The Saints Banners at Trinity Parish
During the long season of Pentecost, or Ordinary Time, We display in the nave of the church handmade banners honoring sixteen saintly Christians whose lives and works are an inspiration to us in our personal ministies. Select from the list at right to see the banner and the story for each of our honored saints.
MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
Civil Rights Leader, d. 1968
Martin Luther King, Jr. was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. As the son and grandson of Baptist preachers, he was steeped in the Black Church tradition. To this heritage he added a thorough academic preparation, earning the degrees of B.A., B.D., and Ph.D in Systematic Theology from Boston University.
In 1954, King became pastor of a church in Montgomery, Alabama. In 1955 he was catapulted into national prominence as the leader of the Montgomery bus boycott, a result of the arrest of Rosa Parks for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white man. The Rev. Dr. King became an increasingly articulate prophet, who could not only rally the Black masses, but could also move the consciences of Whites. He founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to spearhead non-violent mass demonstrations against racism. His campaigns were instrumental to the passage of the Civil Rights acts of 1964, 1965, and 1968. He then turned his attention to the economic empowerment of the poor and opposition to the Vietnam War, contending that racism, poverty and militarism were interrelated.
King lived in constant danger, his home was dynamited, he was almost fatally stabbed, and he was harassed by death threats. He was jailed 30 times, but was sustained by his deep faith. Late one night in 1957, he received a vicious telephone threat. Alone in his kitchen, he wept and prayed. He relates that he heard the Lord speaking to him, saying, "Martin Luther, stand up for righteousness, stand up for justice," and promising never to leave him alone. King refers to this vision as his "Mountain-top Experience."
After preaching at Washington Cathedral on March 31, 1968, King went to Memphis in support of sanitation workers in their struggle for better wages. There, he proclaimed that he had been "to the mountain top" and had seen "the Promised Land," and that he knew one day he and his people would be "free at last." On the following day he was cut down by an assassin's bullet. We celebrate his life on that day, April 4. We have represented the Rev. Dr. King by a black and white shield split by the balance scale of justice and equality.
Almighty God, by the hand of Moses your servant you led your people out of slavery, and made them free at last: Grant that your Church, following the example of your prophet Martin Luther King, Jr. may resist oppression in the name of your love, and may secure for all your children the blessed liberty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.