MLK Jr. memorial service in New Kensington highlights mission to love mercifully

The guest speaker Sunday at the 56th annual Martin Luther King Jr. memorial service delivered a straightforward message to the crowd of about 40 people.

“We must recapture our humanity,” said the Rev. Terrance Davis Sr., pastor at Three Rivers Metropolitan Church in Pittsburgh.

“We have to stop living in partisanship, apathy and fear of one another.”

Sponsored by the Allegheny Valley Association of Churches in Harrison and the Alle-Kiski NAACP, the service was hosted by Bibleway Christian Fellowship Church in New Kensington.

The location rotates among the association’s 54 member churches and serves as a fundraiser for high school scholarships.

“I’m very proud that our church is hosting this year,” said Darlene Moore of New Kensington, a 20-plus year member of the church.

Karen Snair, church association executive director, said the memorial service has been held every year since the civil rights leader was assassinated in 1968.

More than 200 teens have been awarded scholarships as a result.

Moderated by the Rev. Chet Howell, pastor at Shiloh Baptist Church in Brackenridge, the service reflected on MLK’s efforts of peace and empowered the audience to follow his lead.

“We have to give thanks for his vision,” said the Rev. John Bailey, pastor of Christ Our Hope Anglican Church in Harrison.

But it’s important to remember “that the fight for freedom and victory is still before us,” Bibleway Pastor Mitch Nickols said.

Participants were treated to poignant moments during the 90-minute service with excerpts from Arnold resident Larry Rowe of King’s most famous speech, “I Have a Dream.”

They joined together to sing, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” sometimes referred to as the Black national anthem.

“We can do a whole lot more by coming together in unity than we can alone,” said the Rev. Robert Henry, president of the church association.

Friends Bonnie Thomson of Brackenridge and Joyce Schrag of Tarentum try to attend the service every year.

“It’s always a nice message,” Schrag said.

Davis, who grew up in Beechview and earned his doctoral degree from Point Park University, reminded the crowd that it’s important to consider the way King thought.

“Remember to take a position not because it is safe but because it is right,” he said.

“We need to love mercifully and walk justly. Give your love and do it freely. What would life be like if we acted as good Samaritans toward each other?”