Singers lift voices in tribute to Martin Luther King Jr.

The spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. was alive and well Sunday night inside the Free Methodist Church.

About 750 people gathered for two hours in the church at 3001 Lawrence Ave. to hear spiritual, gospel and contemporary music performed by choirs, song and dance groups and individuals.

From left, D.J. Mitchell, Gus Rials and Dearin Atkinson, all from Lawrence, perform a medley of songs with the MLK Children's Choir. The youths performed Sunday during the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Musical, presented by The Ecumenical Fellowship, at Free Methodist Church, 3001 Lawrence Ave.

“I loved it, said Barbara Clark, of Lawrence, after the show. “I think it gets bigger and better every year.”

Odessa Shorter agreed. “It’s the unity and fellowship I like,” she said.

This was the 19th musical held in conjunction with today’s official King holiday. It does get harder to top the previous year’s event, said Anita Martin, chairwoman of the events.

“We had contributions from all of the churches and we had a variety of musical groups,” Martin said. “Each year it gets bigger, and I think as more people see it more people want to be a part of it.”

The Ecumenical Fellowship organized the commemorative musical.

Throughout many of the performances members of the audience were standing, swaying and sometimes clapping to the music.

“It’s the dream that counts,” said Rita Rials, who sang with a choir from the Church of God, 851 Elm St., referring to King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech. “It’s always a pleasure to praise God anywhere and anytime.”

The Martin Luther King Choir concluded the performances to a standing ovation. The choir was made up of choir members from Lawrence churches and had only been practicing a few days.

“This is something we should do more often,” Willone Eubanks, of Lawrence, said. “We should pull together as a community more than just once a year.”

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