COMMEMORATION
Fri, 2016-01-15 05:00
News Staff
Local church hosting 18th annual MLK Jr. unity walk on Monday
By LYNETTE SOWELL
Cove Leader-Press
The legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. will be remembered on Monday as Bible Way Missionary Baptist Church welcomes the community to join in for the 18th annual unity walk.
The walk is in commemoration of the life and impact of the late Martin Luther King Jr., and will begin at 1 p.m. at First Step Child Care Center, located at 1402 S. F.M. 116. The route for the walk proceeds along F.M. 116 and end at Bible Way Missionary Baptist Church, which is located at 2306 S. F.M. 116.
Participants can park at the church and ride a shuttle that will transport walkers to the starting point, with transportation provided from 12:15 until 12:45.
After the walk concludes, the church is hosting a program which begins at 2 p.m. This year’s guest speaker is the Rev. Delvin Atchison who is the director of the Great Commission Team of the Baptist General Convention of Texas in Dallas.
Rev. Atchison served 32 years as a pastor, most recently at the historic 100 plus year old Antioch Missionary Baptist Church in Waco, Bethel Baptist Church in Crockett, Progressive Missionary Baptist Church in Cameron, and Old Providence Missionary Baptist Church in Branchville.
Pastor Charles Reed of Kingdom Life Church in Killeen will direct the MLK Community Choir, with a final practice for the choir to be held at 10 a.m. tomorrow at Bible Way.
Also during the program on Monday, five $1,000 scholarships will be awarded this year to local students, with winners from Copperas Cove, Killeen and Temple.
The first MLK Commemorative Service was held on Jan. 18, 1999 in the Santa Fe Parking Lot, with the Malcolm Dickerson of Robertson Avenue Baptist Church being the guest speaker. The service was moved inside in 2001 and was hosted by the Unity Baptist Church. Since 2002, various churches have hosted the event, to include United Faith Church, pastored by Bishop Clarence Drummond as well as North Pointe Church, pastored by Rev. Billy Sanders, with Bible Way hosting the service in recent years.
The scholarship program began as an essay contest in 2002, which was replaced in 2011 by the current scholarship program.
The committee’s mission is to unite the community in honoring the life of Martin Luther King Jr., while continuing his ideas and vision through celebration, education and service.