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By Priscilla Greear, Staff Writer

ATLANTA - On its 20th anniversary, the Office for Black Catholic Ministry sponsored a celebration Jan. 19 honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and calling Catholics to continue his social justice legacy and build a more inclusive, loving church in North Georgia. The Mass, with the theme "One Body, Many Parts," was celebrated at the Cathedral of Christ the King two days before the federal holiday honoring the slain leader of the civil rights movement. As the drizzly rain outside turned into a downpour, the Mass opened with an increasingly loud drum beat, a Nigerian call to worship, and closed with a reading of King's "Letter From a Birmingham Jail." Darice Gamble, a St. Paul of the Cross parishioner who came with her husband and children, said the annual Mass remembers a man who's been a source of personal inspiration and influence since her girlhood in segregated Atlanta. She recalled an old sermon she heard the day before where King spoke of the fear he felt after a midnight caller threatened to bomb his house if he didn't leave town. With a newborn baby, King told God his fear and heard the Lord speak to him. The story strengthened her faith, as she prepared to travel with a group to the pro-life march in Washington, D.C., Jan. 22. "Crying out to the Lord and praying, God really just heard his prayer. God answered his call and took him (and said), 'Don't be afraid. I'm going to be with you.' That particular speech just showed a really human side of Dr. King," she said. "Fear isn't of God. God gives us the strength to do what he calls us to do." Calling the predominantly black Catholic congregation to worship God and honor King, Archbishop John F. Donoghue was the principal celebrant of the Mass. The homilist was Bishop Edward Braxton of Lake Charles, La. The Archbishop James P. Lyke Memorial Mass Choir, directed by Dr. Kevin Johnson, roused the congregation to soulful singing and clapping during and after songs, including "We've Come This Far by Faith," "Total Praise" and "We Lift the Savior Up." Musicians included Val Parker and Dr. Ifeanyi Anikpe. "It is my prayer at the beginning of this Mass that when we leave here we may be strengthened by the Holy Spirit for the work of God through the example of Dr. King," Archbishop Donoghue said. Quoting from King, he called the faithful to seek God's will as "with him we are able to rise from the midnight of desperation to the daybreak of joy." Bishop Braxton linked the struggle for justice to the season in the church year, where Scriptures now tell of Jesus' baptism and begin to relate his public ministry. "In getting Jesus of Nazareth out of the manger and into the world . . . and directing us immediately to his baptism, the church wants each of us to recommit ourselves to our own baptism and remember what it means to be reborn in Jesus Christ. And Dr. King can certainly be our guide." Quoting King's words shortly before he was killed at 39, Bishop Braxton said it's all right to talk about "long white robes in heaven over yonder," but Christians must also talk about suits and clothes people need here. "Dr. King wanted us to think about a new world of love in our own neighborhoods." He spoke of how in 1955 seamstress Rosa Parks grew tired of the injustice blacks suffered. She "refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man because she worked hard that day and she was tired," he said. "This act of obedience to the dictates of conscience and disobedience to the dictates of unjust law gave rise to the Montgomery bus boycott, which put the hitherto unknown MLK into national prominence and gave rise to an American revolution which is largely unfinished in our country and in Atlanta," he continued. "But if it ever is finished it will change the face of our country and of our Catholic Church." Bishop Braxton said that King, like Mary, would tell others to do what Christ tells them to do, in everything from loving their enemies to achieving greatness by being servants. This puts them on the road to becoming saints, who are "real life authentic human beings overflowing with the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ, willing to get involved in the messy business of this life, this world, these problems, accepting the call to conversion, so that the sin-shattering life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ can turn our lives inside out and upside down." But he also noted how racial conflict endures and how the church can be as divided sometimes as society. How good it would be if people of all races and all neighborhoods around Atlanta were overflowing out of the Cathedral for the Mass, he said, but he told the gathering not to be discouraged, as God brings peace amidst conflict. During the Jubilee Year 2000 Pope John Paul II asked for forgiveness for the sins of Catholics through anti-Semitism and racism, he said, and all Catholics must follow suit for their own sins of prejudice. "The Holy Father says if the Catholic Church is to walk upright in the third millennium she must cross the threshold on her knees." He concluded quoting from King: "Everyone can be a hero, everyone can be great because everyone can serve others . . . To serve others all you need is to recognize and respect the dignity of every human being . . . to be thoughtful, kind and generous to everyone with whatever you have. To be a hero all you need is a heart full of grace and a soul generated by love." Intercessory prayers were offered by adults and children from St. John the Evangelist School, Hapeville, in Spanish, Vietnamese, Igbo, Yoryba, Tagalog, Singhala and Italian. Will Thomas read from King's "Letter From a Birmingham Jail." "I am in Birmingham because injustice is here . . . just as the Apostle Paul left the little village of Tarsus and carried the Gospel of Jesus Christ to practically every hamlet and city of the Graeco-Roman world . . . Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny." Following the Mass a reception was held at Lyke House, the Catholic Center at Atlanta University Center. Kenya Griffin, who leads the liturgical dance ministry at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Atlanta, attends the Mass honoring King yearly and found this year's liturgy to be particularly moving. With "all the things going on in the last couple of months, it's a very powerful message . . . being more peaceful, understanding towards your fellowman," she said. Julius Gamble Jr., 17, who came with his mother, Darice, and his father and sister, had reservations about rising for the Saturday morning service, but said it encouraged him to persevere in the face of daily difficulties. "You've got to keep hope alive. It kind of makes you think . . . If someone is picking on somebody you want to help and do what's right. It kind of motivates you." His mother said it was important to bring her whole family to honor King through a Mass, which is the "highest form of thanksgiving and praise." She wants to show her children that as Catholic Christians they have a responsibility "to continue the work that Dr. King started . . . to see that his dream is fulfilled." "The Mass today has a lot of significance-for one because it was held at the Cathedral with the archbishop. And what that says is that King, his dream and his vision is for all parishes, all of God's people in the Archdiocese of Atlanta," Gamble said. "King . . . was (here) to serve all God's people regardless of ethnic background or religious denomination or affiliation . . . to bring not only justice, to raise our consciousness of injustice in the world . . . to find a peaceful solution so we can live as God intended us to live as brothers and sisters." Growing up in Atlanta, Gamble was somewhat sheltered from segregation by the nuns at Catholic schools and by her mother, who refused to believe they were second-class citizens and avoided things like taking them to the Fox Theatre where blacks had to enter through the fire escape. King represented hope of opportunities denied as he fought for the dignity and rights of all. She noted how Jesus and great leaders from King to presidents Lincoln and Kennedy suffered in their quest for social justice. "When it's an issue of social justice you pretty much have to accept I'm ready to die for this cause . . . We've got to all just really stand and really be willing to die for whatever cause," she said.