A Litany of Dedication and Commitment in the words, and after the example, of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Bishop Jeffery Rowthorn Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 2006

Leader 1: Let us before all else give thanks for the love of God revealed to the world in the life and death of Jesus
Christ:

"The Cross is the eternal expression of the length to which God will go in order to restore broken community."

Silence for prayer

Leader 2: Let us give thanks for the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and for the enduring power of his dream:

"I have a dream that one day ‘every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low...nd the glory of the
Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together'....With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day."

Silence for prayer

Leader 1: Let us commit ourselves to pray and work for peace:

"One day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant oal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that
goal...How much longer must we play at deadly war games before we heed the plaintive pleas of the unnumbered dead
and maimed of past wars?"

Silence for prayer

Leader 2: Let us commit ourselves to walk in the way of non-violence:

The non-violent approach....first does something to the hearts and souls of those committed to it. It gives them new self-respect; it calls up resources of strength and courage that they did not know they had. Finally, it reaches the opponent and so stirs his conscience that reconciliation becomes a
reality."

Silence for prayer

Leader 1: Let us commit ourselves to pray and work for a just ordering of our world:

"Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern
of dedicated individuals....This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is the time for vigorous and positive action."

Silence for prayer

Leader 2: Let us commit ourselves to the vision of a world without poverty and disease, as set forth in the eight Millennium Development Goals:

"I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits."

Silence for prayer

Leader 1: Let us commit ourselves to seek the spiritual renewal of our nation:

"A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is
approaching spiritual death."

Silence for prayer

Leader 2: Let us commit ourselves to seek the spiritual renewal of the church:

"In spite of being disappointed, in spite of being left out without any initial response, millions of people are still knocking
on the door of the Church and turning to it for hte answers to the basic problems of life. The great challenge facing the Church today is to keep the bread fresh."

Silence for prayer

All: "And now unto God who is able to keep us from falling and lift us from the dark valley of despair to the mountains of
hope, from the midnight of desperation to the daybreak of joy, to God be power and authority, for ever and ever." Amen.