Monthly peace service to honor Dr. King's memory

Date: 1/14/2009

By Katelyn Gendron

Reminder Assistant Editor



WEST SPRINGFIELD On Dec. 11, 1964, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his Nobel Lecture titled "The Quest for Peace and Justice," in which he outlined three of modern man's most perilous problems: racial injustice, poverty and war. Within this speech he emphasized the importance of peace within oneself and society at large.

"We must shift the arms race into a 'peace race,'" he said. "If we have the will and determination to mount such a peace offensive, we will unlock hitherto tightly sealed doors of hope and transform our imminent cosmic elegy into a psalm of creative fulfillment."

On Martin Luther King Day, Jan. 19, parishioners at the First Congregational Church will honor King during their monthly peace service at 7 p.m. The congregation's peace services take place on the third Monday of each month in an effort to draw attention to three kinds of peace: peace within oneself, peace between people and global peace.

Rev. Dr. Janet Burdewik of the First Congregational Church explained that while many parishioners believe that they may not have the power to create a peaceful world, it is important to garner peace within one's small piece of the world.

"We believe that prayer and our faith is a powerful way to transform situations," Burdewik said, adding that the service has grown in popularity since its creation over one year ago.

Candy Boucher, member of the First Congregational Church, agreed.

"[King] was one of the peace makers in our history that we most remember and he was also a victim of confrontations that we have with each other," she said. "Because we will be celebrating his life and story on that day it is good to be reminded of his words and actions. [The Peace Service] is a time to keep people in our minds [who] were proactive citizens."

Parishioner Elisabeth Bengston said she has also attended the Peace Service since its inception and believes that the occasions have helped her to obtain inner peace as well as peace among others.

Burdewik explained that she will be including several of King's speeches in this month's peace service.

"I think that people of no faith and all faiths can draw from his teachings," she said.