February 2nd, Martin Luther King, Jr’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”

To mark the beginning of Black History Month, we will read in its entirety MLK Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” addressed to white religious leaders and churches. Written in August of 1963, this letter is a timely call to the church in any era as society continues to struggle for justice and equality. Please come join in hearing this letter again and discussing its call to us, the church.

“But the judgment of God is upon the church as never before. If the church of today does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authentic ring, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. I meet young people every day whose disappointment with the church has risen to outright disgust. I hope the church as a whole will meet the challenge of this decisive hour. But even if the church does not come to the aid of justice, I have no despair about the future. I have no fear about the outcome of our struggle in Birmingham, even if our motives are presently misunderstood. We will reach the goal of freedom in Birmingham and all over the nation, because the goal of America is freedom.”

--Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, August 1963