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Faith news

In the event of inclement weather, please check with the sponsoring organization to see if the event is still being held. To send in items for the Faith News, email information to news@g3f.1db.myftpupload.com. Please include your name and contact information.

The Vincente Valdivieso Scholarship Taco Dinner and Bingo fundraiser will be held from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1, at Christ the King Catholic Church, Davern Hall, 3024 N. 53rd St., Kansas City, Kansas. The cost of the dinner will be $7, and includes dessert and a bingo card.

The 59th annual Greater Kansas City Mayors’ Prayer Breakfast will be held at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 25, in the Grand Ballroom at the downtown Kansas City, Missouri, Convention Center. Dustin Colquitt, Kansas City Chiefs punter, will be the guest speaker. Tickets are $50 each. For more information, visit https://kccmpb.org/ or call 816-863-0992.

The Keeler Women’s Center, 759 Vermont Ave., Kansas City, Kansas, will hold a “Gospel Non-Violence Study Group” from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 4. The group is facilitated by Peg Burns Kerbawy. “Scripture Study and Reflection,” facilitated by Heather Neds, will be from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Wednesdays at the Keeler Center. Register for the programs at 913-689-9375 or register at www.keelerwomenscenter.org.

A Red Cross blood drive is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 10 at the New Story Church, 5500 Woodend Ave., Kansas City, Kansas. For more information or to make an appointment to donate blood, visit www.redcrossblood.org.

Open Door Baptist Church, 3033 N. 103rd Terrace, Kansas City, Kansas, will hold a worship service at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 26. Sunday school will be at 9 a.m. Jan. 26.

Stony Point Christian Church, 149 S. 78th St., Kansas City, Kansas, will hold a worship service at 10:15 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 26. Sunday school will be at 9 a.m. Jan. 26.

A Super Sunday benefit dinner for the Sisters, Servants of Mary, will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2, at St. Patrick Catholic Church, 94th and State Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas. The cost of the pasta, Italian sausage and meatballs dinner with sides is $10 per person, or $5 per youth 10 and younger. Tickets will be available at the door, with carryout available. Proceeds benefit the charitable nursing work of the Sisters, Servants of Mary.

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1300 N. 18th St., Kansas City, Kansas, held its annual parish meeting Sunday, Jan. 26. Members of the vestry, the official governing board of the parish, were elected; they include Tom Brown, senior warden; and Herb White, junior warden. The parish will observe the fourth Sunday after Epiphany at 10 a.m. Feb. 2.

Wyandotte United Methodist Church, 7901 Oakland Ave., Kansas City, Kansas, will hold worship services at 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 26. Sunday school will be at 9:45 a.m. Jan. 26, with the youth group meeting at 1:30 p.m.

Send Faith News items to news@g3f.1db.myftpupload.com. Please include your contact information. If there is inclement weather, check with the sponsoring organization to see if the event will still be held. These events are listed by alphabetical order of the faith group.

MLK Day celebration addresses topic of injustice

Monsignor Stuart Swetland, president of Donnelly College, was the keynote speaker at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration on Monday, Jan. 20, at the Jack Reardon Convention Center, Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo copyright 2020 by Steve Rupert)

“Injustice Anywhere Is a Threat to Justice Everywhere” was the theme of the 36th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration on Monday, Jan. 20, at the Jack Reardon Convention Center, 5th and Minnesota Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas.

The theme was a quotation from a letter from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Several elected officials were in attendance, including Kansas Lt. Gov. Lynn Rogers, U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-3rd Dist., Kansas City, Kansas, Mayor-CEO David Alvey and many other elected officials in Wyandotte County. U.S. Rep. Roger Marshall, R-1st Dist., a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, also attended.

Snow was falling and temperatures were very cold on Monday morning during the event in Kansas City, Kansas.

“None of us have the right to stay in our seats when there’s problems to be addressed. None of us has the right to stand by and say it’s someone else’s problem. All of us are called to address the problem,” said the keynote speaker, Monsignor Stuart W. Swetland, president of Donnelly College.

Monsignor Swetland, who is a Rhodes Scholar and teaches a college course on the topic, in his speech quoted from Dr. King’s letter from the Birmingham jail.

“I cannot sit idly by in Atlanta and not be concerned about what happens in Birmingham,” he quoted from Dr. King’s letter. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny, whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.”

What started with the letter reverberates through history, Monsignor Swetland said. To address injustice, people need to begin with themselves, he said.

“How many of the world’s problems could be solved if we truly recognized each and every person as a brother or sister?” he asked.

He added that the community has to put an end to economic injustice if it is going to grow and prosper together. The redlining in the past has left the community with a steep hill to climb, he said.

“We owe reparations, we owe repentance, we owe reform and we owe rebuilding up those areas that were deliberately set aside, not having access to the resources that God intended them to have,” he said. “Now is the time for us to address that injustice.”

No human person is a burden, he said, and no person is ever illegal. Monsignor Swetland also discussed other types of injustice, including environmental injustice and the unjust disparities in health care.

“We have for too long waited for someone else to begin fixing our problems,” he said. He added that people can fix their problems with God’s help. “Together, we can overcome. We know that, but we have to put aside the partisan divisions that keep us at our worst, not our best. We have to say, where can we work together.”

The problems are immense, he said, but “there’s great freedom in knowing we can’t do everything,” he said. “Once we recognize that truth, it frees us to do something, and do it very well. The one thing we cannot do is to do nothing.”

The MLK Mass Choir, under the direction of Ruby Kirkwood, performed selections at the celebration.

Taylor Sims, Piper High School, performed “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

One highlight of the program was the awarding of educational scholarships. Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree announced new scholarship awards.

Officials chatted before the start of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration on Monday, Jan. 20, at the Reardon Convention Center, Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo copyright 2020 by Steve Rupert)

At the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration on Monday, Jan. 20, at the Reardon Convention Center, Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo copyright 2020 by Steve Rupert)

The Rev. Jimmie Banks, pastor of Strangers Rest Baptist Church, presided at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration on Monday, Jan. 20, at the Reardon Convention Center, Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo copyright 2020 by Steve Rupert)

Listening to speakers at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration on Monday, Jan. 20, at the Reardon Convention Center, Kansas City, Kansas, were, left to right, Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree, Kansas Lt. Gov. Lynn Rogers, U.S. Rep. Roger Marshall, R-1st Dist., and the Rev. Jimmie Banks, pastor of Strangers Rest Baptist Church. (Photo copyright 2020 by Steve Rupert)

Monsignor Stuart Swetland, left, and the Rev. Tony Carter, right, pastor of Salem Baptist Church, listened to speakers on Monday, Jan. 20, at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo copyright 2020 by Steve Rupert)

Mayor David Alvey proclaimed Jan. 20 as Martin Luther King Jr. Day. (Photo copyright 2020 by Steve Rupert)

U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, left, attended the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration Jan. 20 in Kansas City, Kansas, with other government officials. (Photo copyright 2020 by Steve Rupert)

Mayor-CEO David Alvey read a proclamation declaring Jan. 20 at Martin Luther King Jr. Day. (Photo copyright 2020 by Steve Rupert)

The MLK Mass Choir, under the direction of Ruby Kirkwood, performed selections including “We Shall Overcome” at the celebration. (Photo copyright 2020 by Steve Rupert)

Musicians performed selections at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration Jan. 20 at the Reardon Convention Center, Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo copyright 2020 by Steve Rupert)

The Rev. Ricky Turner, right, pastor of Oak Ridge Missionary Baptist Church, thanked those who contributed to a scholarship fund for students. (Photo copyright 2020 by Steve Rupert)

The Rev. Tony Carter Jr., pastor of Salem Baptist Church, introduced the keynote speaker. (Photo copyright 2020 by Steve Rupert)

Attending the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration Jan. 20 at the Reardon Convention Center, were front row, left to right, U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-3rd Dist., Board of Public Utilities member Bob Milan, and Cardelia Walker. (Photo copyright 2020 by Steve Rupert)

Monsignor Stuart Swetland, left, and the Rev. Tony Carter, right, pastor of Salem Baptist Church, before the program began on Monday, Jan. 20, at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo copyright 2020 by Steve Rupert)

Faith news

Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, 2203 Parallel, Kansas City, Kansas, will hold a Mass at 9 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 20, on Martin Luther King Day. Archbishop Joseph Naumann will celebrate Mass at Blessed Sacrament, and there will be a prayer for racial healing. Those in attendance will be encouraged to attend the Martin Luther King Day rally at 11 a.m. Jan. 20 at the Reardon Center.

The Knights of Columbus at Christ the King Catholic Church, 3024 N. 53rd St., Kansas City, Kansas, will hold a pancake breakfast on Sunday, Jan. 19, after the 9:30 a.m. Mass.

The Keeler Women’s Center, 759 Vermont Ave., Kansas City, Kansas, will hold a “Gospel Non-Violence Study Group” from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21. The group is facilitated by Peg Burns Kerbawy. “Scripture Study and Reflection,” facilitated by Heather Neds, will be from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Wednesdays at the Keeler Center. Register for the programs at 913-689-9375 or register at www.keelerwomenscenter.org.

The Kansas City, Kansas, Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Celebration will take place at 11 a.m. Monday, Jan. 20, at the Reardon Civic Center, 5th and Minnesota, Kansas City, Kansas. The theme will be “Injustice Anywhere Is a Threat to Justice Everywhere.” The guest speaker will be Monsignor Stuart Swetland, president of Donnelly College, Kansas City, Kansas. The event is open to the public. For more information, see https://wyandotteonline.com/king-day-celebration-set-for-jan-20-in-kck/.

Open Door Baptist Church, 3033 N. 103rd Terrace, Kansas City, Kansas, will hold a worship service at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 19. Sunday school will be at 9 a.m. Jan. 19.

Stony Point Christian Church, 149 S. 78th St., Kansas City, Kansas, will hold a worship service at 10:15 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 19. Sunday school will be at 9 a.m. Jan. 19.

The vestry, the official governing board at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1300 N. 18th St., Kansas City, Kansas, will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23. The Rev. Dixie Roberts Junk, the priest-in-charge, will present the state of the parish at the 10 a.m. Sunday service Jan. 26; a potluck luncheon and the annual parish meeting will follow.

Wyandotte United Methodist Church, 7901 Oakland Ave., Kansas City, Kansas, will hold worship services at 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 19. Sunday school will be at 9:45 a.m. Jan. 19, with the youth group meeting at 1:30 p.m.