As communities across the country commemorated Martin Luther King Jr. Day, one Great Falls church chose to recognize the civil rights icon not only as an activist, but also as a pastor and spiritual leader.
Quentin Shores reports - watch the video here:
Living Grace Church hosted its inaugural Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration, bringing together the community for music, food, and meditation on Dr. King's legacy.
"People always talk about Dr. King as an activist, as the one who led the boycotts and things like that," said Andre Murphy, pastor at Living Grace Church. "But whenever I think of Dr. King, I always think of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King."
Living Grace Church, which is in its third year in Great Falls, believes that honoring King's Christian leadership is fundamental to how they commemorate the anniversary.
"When you look through our congregation, it's what Dr. King wanted," says Murphy. "We're not a Black church or a white church or a Hispanic church. We're the church."
The church takes pride in its intentional diversity, which encompasses people of all ethnicities, ages, and faith backgrounds. Church members claim that inclusivity is what brought them in.
"I can't tell you how many churches I've been to where it's like, do it this way, go about it this way," said Kris Jamieson, a Living Grace Church member. “And if you don’t get it, people—whether on purpose or by accident—kind of leave you behind.”
The celebration was open to the public and included live music, shared food, and talks about Dr. King's work outside of his most famous speech.
"One of the things we wanted to focus on was Dr. King outside of the 'I Have a Dream' that everybody talks about," said Brie Jamieson, who works in youth ministry at the church. "He has so many speeches, so many books, and so many ideas that I personally believe were much bigger and much deeper."
Church officials said the event was designed to educate and inspire while also providing opportunities for community involvement.
The commemoration occurred the day before Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
On the holiday itself, Living Grace Church intends to honor Dr. King's legacy by performing acts of service around the Great Falls community.
