Mercy Ministries Remembers Civil Rights Hero, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

In recognition of this historic day, when we celebrate and honor civil rights leader, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we want to proclaim the value he held in highest regard – FREEDOM! Read this powerful excerpt on freedom from Dr. King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech:

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.”

“This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.”

“This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, ‘My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring’…And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!’”

Here at Mercy, we believe freedom IS possible! We encourage you to take some time, if you haven’t already, to thank God for all the brave men and women like Dr. King who have stepped out with a dream in their hearts and had a life-changing, positive impact on our society today.

In 1986, this day was set aside as a federal holiday to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In 1994, it was also designated as a national day of service. To find a service project in your community, go to www.mlkday.gov.