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Honor Martin Luther King Jr. by promoting peace, Bishop Burbidge says

Elizabeth A. Elliott | Catholic Herald Staff Writer

Deacon Albert Anderson Jr. (left), Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, Josephite Father Donald Fest and Josephite Father Roderick Coates, listen to the opening song at Mass in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. at St. Joseph Church in Alexandria Jan. 15. Elizabeth A. Elliott | Catholic Herald

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More than 270 people fill St. Joseph Church in Alexandria Jan. 15 at Mass to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Elizabeth A. Elliott | Catholic Herald

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An image of Martin Luther King Jr. sat near the ambo at St.
Joseph Church in Alexandria Jan. 15. If the civil rights icon were there, he
would have found more than 270 people of all races and colors gathered to
recognize and celebrate his dream. He would have heard the gospel choir raise
their voices about peace, and heard Arlington Bishop Michael F. Burbidge tell
the congregation how King’s message lives on.

“Now, in this moment of history, we are the ones that the Lord
sends out into the world, a world we know that continues to suffer the consequences
of all the injustice of inequality and of racism,” said Bishop Burbidge. “But
we don’t despair, we’re believers. Every time we come to celebrate the Mass, we
celebrate the truth that through His own suffering, cross and resurrection,
Jesus has transformed darkness into light.”

Mathell Lee grew up in the civil rights era and marched for
integration. She thought it was fitting the bishop came to reflect on what King
worked for and moving the country together.

“I’m glad that they’re continuing to focus on his dream and
everything we fought so hard for in the 1960s,” she said. Lee believes King’s
message would be the same today.

“We still have the same problems, which have improved, but there
is still a long way to go,” she said. “We don’t want to lose the progress we
made. We need to continue to build on it and not go back in time.”

In a statement released prior to the Mass, Bishop Burbidge said,
“As the bishop of Arlington, I am mindful of how our ethnically diverse diocese
of over 600,000 Catholics includes a vibrant Black Catholic community, which
continues to enrich us all. Our Christian faith calls us to protect, preserve
and champion human dignity without equivocation.”

He also stated that the holiday in remembrance of King should be
more than a day off.

“See it as an opportunity to serve the most vulnerable, to reach
out to those rejected, to defend the rights of those who are oppressed and
abused, and to promote peace in our communities,” he said.

Lee spent her day taking food to the needy in Arlington with the
sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, the oldest sorority established in America by
black women.

Bishop Burbidge said whatever way we choose to spend our time and
resources “we can be assured that God will use our efforts to show to others
His great love for them and remind them of His abiding presence.”

Josephite Father Donald Fest, pastor of the predominantly African-American
parish, said it was more important than ever to celebrate a Mass in observance
of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

“This celebration has a message for everybody to observe peace,”
he said. “There have been a lot of attacks on people and we need to listen to
the message of Dr. King.”

Father Fest cited fallout from the divisive election campaign, recent
violence against police, blacks and Latinos, and the issue of immigration as
reasons to listen closely to King.

Brenda Johnson, a parishioner of St. Mary Church in Alexandria,
said it is important for all churches to recognize King because he was a force
for change in the country. She believes President Barack Obama, the first black
president, is a direct result.

“We cannot lose sight of what we’ve already accomplished,” she
said.

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