Two months out
Diversity drives King Day in New Jersey
A
s Martin Luther King Jr. Day draws closer on the calendar, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Teaneck, N.J., prepares to cele- brate his life and work. Each year it organizes a community- wide worship service, incorporating a diverse group of people into an interfaith experience that champions King’s goals of equality, acceptance and peace. Gary LeCroy, pastor of St. Paul, said the service is a prelude to Black History Month (Febru- ary), which the congregation celebrates by singing African- American spirituals in worship. “I try to focus my sermons around the traditional songs in order to draw out the teaching moment and really allow the history and significance of Dr.
King’s equality movement to have an impact on the congrega- tion,” he said. The interfaith service typically takes place at Temple Beth El
in Teaneck, accommodating about 125 people and three congre- gations, both Christian and Jewish. “We haven’t had anyone from the local mosque present at these services yet, but we really need to reach out and be wel- coming to them,” LeCroy said. “Every year we hope this service will grow and spread.”
Martin Luther King Day holds a special place in the history of St. Paul. LeCroy said the church is able to claim involvement in the civil rights movement by being part of the first community with a white majority to voluntarily desegregate its schools. “That change had to do with the church’s work,” he said. “Every MLK Day we take an honest look at ourselves and how far we’ve come since then, and try to understand where God is call- ing us to work for justice now.” Member Wayne Olsen gives thanks for the diversity pres- ent in the church that allows St. Paul to play such an active role in the Martin Luther King Day celebrations in Teaneck. “It’s a blessing to have such a diverse congregation,” he said. “It makes us stronger to connect with people who live through those struggles for civil rights. When we join hands and sing ‘We Will Overcome,’ we know we are part of the movement and that we can overcome even more in order to move toward a fair and equitable society.” The interfaith service is only the beginning of the celebra-
tions. St. Paul also participates in a service week in the community, working to further King’s legacy among residents. “We are proud to uphold King’s legacy,” Olsen
said. “It’s a tribute to what he did that we are able to have an interfaith service and do service work as a community like this.”
Abigail Accettura Accettura was The Lutheran’s summer intern.
Good one! Free books for kids
A member of St. John Lutheran Church,
Warren, Pa., started “Free Books for Kids Town” two years ago. Ruby Wiles (rmwiles@
ymail.com) based the organization on research indicating that two keys in helping children become better readers are their ability to select books that interest them and being able to keep books to read again and again. Free Books for Kids Town has given away
more than 7,000 books by placing them in crates in stores and nonprofit agencies. “In our rural county many children don’t have books in their homes,” Wiles said, adding that many can’t walk to a public library because of the dis- tance from their homes. On Sept. 8, the ELCA’s “God’s work. Our
hands.” Sunday, Wiles gave away books at her congregation (Madison and Meredith Hanks in photo). It costs $5 to distribute a book through
the program (a bookplate acknowledges the giver). Classrooms can be sponsored for $125; entire schools for between $200 and $2,000. Wiles hopes the organization catches on in other commun ities.
Send congregational stories—both those for a specific month/holiday or your best timeless idea—to
julie.sevig@
thelutheran.org. 62 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org
SHUTTERSTOCK
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