THE ANNUAL INTERFAITH SERVICE at the Shiloh Baptist Church marking the birthday of Rev. Martin Luther King. Jr., January 15, 1929, is meant to join worshippers of all faiths to celebrate the man as well as the legacy of his beliefs and actions.
Music for the service was provided by the Shiloh Baptist Church Youth Music Ministry and the Hudson High School Choir. The Hudson “I Have a Dream Dancing Team” performed to an appreciative assembly.
Dr. King’s “I have a dream” speech delivered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., in August 1963 is always a part of this service. Usually the text is read by younger members congregation, but this year, the Rev. Mable Blanks, who marched with Dr. King in the 1960s, read the words that today hold as strong a message as they did then.
“You may not understand my tears,” Rev. Blanks said, “but to live to see today is a blessing.”
Early in Sunday’s service, Rabbi Daniel Fried of Congregation Anshe-Emeth asked those gathered to observe a moment of silence for the late Rev. Leif Erickson, a former pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Hudson, who died January 6.
Rabbi Fried called him “a gentle man, as well as a gentleman and a scholar, a fine human being and humanitarian. He lived a worthwhile and honorable life, and he will be rewarded for the good he did.”
Hudson’s newly elected mayor, William Hallenbeck Jr., said, “Our city is about community and family.” He went on to say that Hudson should not be filled with poverty and violence. “We need to deliver a message of hope and responsibility to our youth, and strive to increase workforce development.”