Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. remembrance service held in Kalamazoo church
KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Dozens gathered at a Kalamazoo church for a special service in remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s life and legacy on Wednesday.
Newschannel 3's Nicky Zizaza attended the service and reported.
Speaker after speaker called for peace, justice, and love five decades after Martin Luther King Jr. was gunned down in Memphis.
Dozens gathered inside the chapel at First Congregational Church in Kalamazoo. The emotional ceremony providing an opportunity for speakers, city leaders and clergy to remember the preachers words and mission.
United Church of Christ Rev. Vince Lavieri said, “Stick with love there is too great a burden to bear with hate."
Kalamazoo County Chairwoman Stephanie Moore said, “I've always been inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Junior and many other folks who have blazed the trail for all of us.”
Wednesday, April 4, marked 50 years to the day a bullet ended King's life on a motel balcony in Memphis Tennessee. A senseless death Lavieri says made this day necessary.
He said, “There is no way that I could let it go unmarked."
Lavieri called for community members to strive and push for King's legacy of service and positive change.
He said, "We've come so far in some ways and in other ways we haven't come at all."
Organizers hope this event will not only unify community members, but promote peace during this political climate.c
