The march, free community lunch, and program of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration on Jan. 19 in Lewisburg will add up to a fitting event to honor Dr. King. It is also an opportunity for all of us to strengthen our commitment to their cause which continues to be of great importance.
At 11 a.m., people will gather in front of the Greenbrier County Courthouse for a short opening ceremony. The invocation will be delivered by Bishop Kathie D. Holland of the New Vision Baptist in White Sulphur Springs. After hearing some words of exhortation from James Wilmer, Master of Ceremonies for the whole celebration, the people will proceed en masse on Court and Washington Streets to the Lewisburg United Methodist Church. Along the way, marchers will sing a traditional civil rights song about their determination to ensure liberty and justice for everyone. Chris Winston will lead that singing.
The marchers will go straight into the church through its western door to Wesley Hall for the community lunch. That meal will be catered by Smash Pots and will feature beef chili, veggie chili, veggie wraps, chicken wraps, roast beef sandwiches, and turkey sandwiches.
The program in the church sanctuary will begin at 12:30 p.m. Near the beginning of the program, everyone will sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
James Wilmer will introduce Rev. Beverly Colombo who will welcome everyone to the church and make them feel at home. Lewisburg Mayor Beverly White will read a moving proclamation of Martin Luther King, Jr. Week which will begin on that day.
High Rocks will be featured in a performance of their own recent creation. They have helped with this event in many ways for many years.
One highlight of the program will be readings of essays by MLK Day essay contest winners. That contest has been expanded this year to include entries from students in grades from kindergarten to 12th grade in Pocahontas, Monroe, and Greenbrier Counties. That includes students at private schools and home-schooled students. The winners in four categories based on grade levels will be awarded cash prizes provided by the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine Chapter of the Student National Medical Association. Art work entries created by students in the youngest category who chose to enter them instead of essays will be on display. The deadline line for the submission of contest entries has been extended to Jan. 13. The email address to use is for that or to ask for information is mlkcelebrationcommittee@gmail.com.
The essays and pictures entered by the students will be based on each student’s choice of one of Dr. King’s 14 quotations that are engraved on the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial in Washington, DC. On the other hand, the theme for the entire celebration was derived from his words, “Let no man pull you so low as to hate him.”
Even more music will come from the many voices of the Resurrection Praise Community Choir with singers from Greenbrier and other nearby counties including Alleghany County. In addition, Soloist Milton Hardy, Jr., the Pastor of the City of Praise Ministries in Covington has agreed to cross over into West Virginia to sing in his powerful baritone voice.
The keynote speaker for the event will be Jermiah A. Jasper, pastor of Woodford Memorial United Methodist Church in Elkins, WV. He has been featured in Martin Luther King Jr. Day programs at Davis and Elkins College and also West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon.
Originally from Oak Hill, Rev. Jasper has a B.S. in Education from West Virginia Institute of Technology and a Masters of Divinity from Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, IL.
Three months ago, Rev. Jasper and Mike Brooks, both from the Woodford Memorial Methodist Church, were among the local winners of Extra Mile Heroesnational awards, presented by to them by Elkins Mayor Jerry Marco. This was primarily due to the church’s weekly Common Ground Meals program and also their Backpack Program. Rev. Jasper had previously won that award for public service during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Additional information about the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration is available on the Facebook page: MLK Celebration in Greenbrier Valley. Two or three days after the event, a video of the program at the church prepared by the church’s audiovisual expert, Darren Campbell will be accessible via that Facebook page.
Anyone wishing to be a sponsor for this event may make out a check to Greenbrier Valley Community Foundation and write Greenbrier Valley MLK in the memo line. The foundation’s mailing address is GVCF, P.O. Box 1682, Lewisburg, WV 24901.
