Keeping faith for peace

Members of many religions come together in Columbia to honor Martin Luther King Jr.

By CHRISTINA KNAUSS
Staff Writer

January 17, 2005

God. Yahweh. Allah. Jesus Christ. Buddha. Baha’u’llah.

They all might call the Divine by different names, but believers of many faiths came together at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral on Sunday to worship and pay tribute to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

The service opened with spoken words from King’s famous “I have a dream” speech and the ceremonial blowing of a shofar, or ram’s horn, often used on Jewish high holy days.


Buddhists offered chants about peace and an end to suffering. Imam Omar Shaheed of Masjid as-Salaam, a Muslim mosque off Monticello Road, recited a verse from the Quran that included the words, “O people! We created you from a male and a female, made you into nations and tribes, that you may recognize one another.”

King’s message of unity and peace was at the root of a special worship service held at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral on Sunday, the evening before the national holiday celebrating the civil rights leader and his legacy. More than 150 people listened to readings, sang “We Shall Overcome” and linked hands.

The service was co-sponsored by Trinity Episcopal and St. Luke’s Episcopal.

“His message was just not a message for any one community — it transcended race and transcended just the Christian community,” said the Rev. Calvin R. Griffin, pastor of St. Luke’s Episcopal. “His example shows that peace, justice and equality is something that everyone has to work for regardless of their race, creed or faith.

“And that’s not ever going to work unless we learn to pray together, to worship together and to talk with each other.”

Called “A Service of Unity,” the hourlong service of prayer, readings, chants and songs was the result of a year of planning, Griffin said.

Griffin said a group of Christian churches from around Columbia had celebrated a worship service in King’s honor for about seven years, but decided after the 2004 service it was time to reach out to those of other faiths, as well.

“It’s something we felt was necessary, especially in the aftermath of 9/11 and everything that’s going on in the world with Christian-Muslim relations, we thought this would be a great way to bring the faith communities together,” Griffin said.

Sunday’s service included members of the Bahai, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim and Unitarian Universalist faiths.

A group of children from Tree of Life Congregation, a Reform Jewish congregation, sang a verse in Hebrew that translated to, “How good it is, and how pleasant, when we dwell together in unity.”

Griffin read from the New Testament Gospel of Luke (6:27-36), words of Jesus Christ that spoke about peace and nonviolence: “I say to you that listen, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.”

David Crockett, a member of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Columbia, quoted from a speech King gave in 1967, called “Beyond Vietnam,” and talked about the lessons his words taught about how to fight for peace and justice, how to be vigilant in the struggle and still show love and compassion.

Griffin said he hopes services like the one at Trinity will continue and will remind all people of faith of the message King’s work has for them.

Michelle Gauthier was one of two Columbia residents representing the Zen Buddhist community at the service. She is a member of the Ganden Mahyana Buddhist Center on Devine Street. On Sunday, Gauthier and the Rev. Rokuzan Kroenke, another Zen Buddhist, chanted a special “Mantra of Compassion” dedicated to the legacy of Martin Luther King.

The mantra repeats the phrase “May everybody be free from suffering,” over and over, and Gauthier said it was chosen because in Buddhist tradition, the mantra is chanted to pray that a certain person or group of people remains free from harm.

“In this case, the mantra seemed appropriate because it related to Martin Luther King’s nonviolent example of working for freedom,” Gauthier said.

Gauthier said people of faith can learn the most from King’s example of creating change through nonviolence.

“Everybody wants peace, but most people don’t really believe you can affect change for peace through nonviolence,” Gauthier said. “King is the best example, for me, of using compassion to affect change. A lot of people mistakenly think that if you’re compassionate you’re a doormat ... I ask them was Martin Luther King a doormat? He was a very powerful person, and a lot of his power came through nonviolence.”

Jennifer Stein, a member of Tree of Life Congregation, took part in the service and said she felt it was important because it highlighted King’s message of unity in often confrontational times.

“There has been such fervent partisanship in this country, especially during the recent elections, and an event like this gives people a chance to explore each other’s traditions, while also emphasizing the essential beliefs and hopes we all share.”

END