Tuesday, January 4, 2005
Civil rights activist Vincent Harding highlights Goshen College’s 12th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Study Day Jan. 17; Kids’ activities available in schedule of public events
GOSHEN,
Ind. – Goshen College will honor the life and work of Martin
Luther King Jr. by holding its 12th annual all-school Martin
Luther King Jr. Study Day, emphasizing the values and ideals that
characterized King’s work. On Monday, Jan. 17, the college welcomes
Dr. Vincent Harding, a distinguished veteran of the civil rights movement
and associate of Martin Luther King Jr.
In the 2005
Martin Luther King Jr. Day keynote address at 10 a.m. in the
Church-Chapel, Harding will speak on “A King for the
21st Century,” and will also lead an afternoon
workshop. Performing during the convocation will be
Voices-n-Harmony Choir, Goshen College’s Gospel choir
directed by Patrice Penny Henderson of Elkhart, Ind. The choir
includes Goshen College students, faculty, staff and community
members from a diverse mix of cultural backgrounds and ages who
sing to proclaim the power of God's love. The community is invited
to attend the convocation free of charge. Goshen College is offering
activities related to Martin Luther King Jr. Day for children in
grades 2-6. Children can attend a video with interviews of people
who participated in the Selma to Montgomery March as youth;
workshops about drumming, games, art, dance, drama, stories and
music and more; plus a time to share what was learned. The
activities will be from 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and pre-registration
is required. For more information, contact Plowshares Librarian
Anne Meyer Byler at (574) 533-1996.
Afternoon
workshops, led by student clubs and Harding, will focus on
translating the ideals of Martin Luther King Day into practice.
Seminar topics include civil rights, interracial relationships,
nonviolence training, celebrating cultures, Catholic social
teaching and contemporary women’s issues.
The complete
Martin Luther King Jr. Study Day schedule
follows:
7:15 a.m.
– Community Prayer Breakfast, Church-Chapel Fellowship
Hall; sponsored by Goshen College, Goshen Health System and Goshen
Ministerial Association. Speaker – Vincent
Harding Music – Goshen
College Voices-n-Harmony
9 a.m. –
Opening film: Veterans of
Hope,”Church-Chapel
Video interviews, hosted by Vincent Harding with civil rights
activists, on how their faith inspired them in the quest for
justice. 9 a.m.-12:15 p.m.,
– MLK Kids’ Day activities
Activities for
children in grades 2-6 are being offered, including a civil rights
video and music, drama and art workshops. For more information and
to pre-register, which is required, contact Anne Meyer Byler,
Plowshare’s librarian, at (574) 533-1996.
10 a.m.
– Study Day Convocation, Church-Chapel “A King for the
21st Century” by Vincent Harding Music by Goshen College
Voices-n-Harmony. 1 and 2 p.m. –
Hot Topics, Church
classrooms Student clubs and
Vincent Harding will lead seminars on civil rights, interracial
relationships, nonviolence training, celebrating cultures, Catholic
social teaching and contemporary women’s issues.
Martin Luther
King Jr. Study Day is sponsored in part by Plowshares. For more
information about the study day, call the Multicultural Education
Office at (574) 535-7548. The Church-Chapel and Umble Center are
accessible to people using wheelchairs and others with physical
limitations. Goshen College,
established in 1894, is a four-year residential Christian liberal
arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The
college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate
learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and
servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the
church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term
program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in
Barron’s Best Buys in Education, Kaplan’s
“Most Interesting Colleges” guide and U.S.News &
World Report’s
“America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named
Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit https://www.goshen.edu. Editors: Reporters and photographers are
welcome at all of the study day’s events. For more
information, contact Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or
jodihb@goshen.edu. ###
Harding has
committed his life and work to peace and justice advocacy and
scholarship. Active in the civil rights movement, he was an
associate of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and served as the senior
academic consultant to the award-winning PBS series “Eyes on
the Prize.” He was also the first director of the Martin
Luther King Memorial Center in Atlanta. Most recently, he served 23
years as Professor of Religion and Social Transformation at Iliff
School of Theology, Denver, Colo., and he is co-chair of the
Veterans of Hope Project: A Center for the Study of Religion and
Democratic Renewal, in Denver. With his wife, the late Rosemarie
Freeney Harding, a 1955 Goshen College graduate, Harding led
Mennonite Central Committee’s first Voluntary Service unit in
Atlanta, Ga., during the civil rights era. He earned a doctorate in history from the University
of Chicago in 1965, and has taught at Spelman College, Temple
University and the University of Pennsylvania. His books
include “Martin Luther King: The Inconvenient Hero”
(1996).
Harding will
also speak at 7:30 a.m. during the Community Prayer Breakfast in
the Church-Chapel Fellowship Hall. Advance registration required;
tickets for the breakfast are $15 per person or $120 for a table of
eight and must be reserved by Jan. 10. For more information about
the prayer breakfast, or to reserve a seat or table, call the
Welcome Center (574) 535-7566.
Goshen College Associate Professor of History Steve Nolt, chair of
the college’s Martin Luther King Jr. Study Day Committee,
said, Martin Luther King Day is an important time for us to
consider together the connections between action and reflection,
campus and community, faith and faithfulness. I am excited about
the opportunity we will have to interact with Dr. Harding, given
his commitment to integrating nonviolence, antiracism and Christian
conviction in a spirit of contagious hope."