Document Type

Paper

Publication Date

1-20-2020

Abstract

This piece was the winning piece of writing submitted for the Writing Center's MLK Day writing contest. Submissions responded to the following prompt:

Coretta Scott King addressed the class of 1968 at Harvard University’s commencement just weeks after her husband was assassinated. Please read the entire speech (it’s brief and easy-to-read) @ https://harvardmagazine.com/2011/05/coretta-scott-king-urges-students-to-speak-out-with-righteous-indignation.

In her speech, Coretta Scott King challenged the graduates by saying, “In this period of social, political, economic and religious transformation, not one of us can be spared the luxury of withdrawing from the arena of action. As members of the family of mankind we have an inherent moral responsibility to become participants in the greatest creative venture in the history of our world: that of remaking, reshaping, yes, restructuring our whole world order.”

In 500 words or less, write a poem, short piece of fiction, or essay addressing one social, political, economic, or religious aspect of our present national situation that you would use your imagination and creativity to change.

  • What would you remake, reshape, or restructure about a related situation in the Taylor University community and why?
  • Related to that question is this one: If, as Coretta Scott King also stated in that same speech, “The world is in dire need of a spiritual awakening which will make those eternal values of love, justice, mercy and peace meaningful in our time,” how can you work toward such a spiritual awakening on our campus?
  • Similarly, what would you remake, reshape, or restructure about a related situation locally in Upland, Gas City, Marion, or Muncie—or in your hometown through your church(es) there? And why?

The author, Katie Ito, provided the following abstract:

"A Liturgy for MLK Day" was written to be a call-and-response prayer for the body of Taylor University. This prayer is for the unity of the Church, the celebration of Jesus' death and resurrection, and the Wedding Feast that is to come. I sought to answer how we are to live in light of our salvation and the hospitality extended to us by the Father. In remembrance of the sins that this nation has committed against minorities and the failure of the North American Evangelical Church to have informed and transformative conversations about race, oppression, and systemic evil, this liturgy is also meant to recognize and lament over these difficult truths. My greatest prayer for this liturgy is that it will wake up hearts and cause people to think deeply about the intersection of their faith and action.

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