MLK walk: Recognizing legacy, service

BY JEFF B. FLINN Managing Editor

Believers in the words and actions of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will again take to the streets of Boerne during events planned for MLK Day on January 15.

The Rev. Kerry Kirtley of Touchstone United Church of Christ of Boerne said the day’s celebration is as much a day of service as anything else.

“It’s a celebration of Martin Luther King’s legacy,” Kirtley said. “We want to get the word out to (Hill Country) Daily Bread Ministries, and Hill Country Family Services, and to our churches, because this is really a national day of service.”

The January 15 event begins at 10 a.m. at the Patrick Heath Public Library amphitheater. Attendees will hear organizers share words of encouragement, talk briefly about what Dr. King stood for in relation to the good of the community, then embark on the MLK walk.

“We want to walk in remembrance of Dr. King, who stood for everything everyone should embrace -- dignity and respect,” Kirtley said. “We want to make sure this day does not go unnoticed in our community.”

Kirtley said the church really pushed the idea of MLK’s “beloved community” notion, that “everybody is beloved and has something to offer to the community.”

“There’s things we can do to come together to make it a safe place to live and thrive,” she said. “It doesn't mat- ter if your rich, or your poor ... with all people working together, to make sure people can flourish.”

MLK Day Walk organizers hope Monday’s event -- which includes a walk from the Heath Library amphitheater to River Road, and back – will help restore the day for future celebrations.

“We hope we can get this back to what it was and make it a nondenominational, nonpolitical gathering of people who cherish his message,” she said.

“We’re hoping more people will show up this year after trying to restart it last year. I think some folks will come who normally wouldn’t, when they see there’s no agenda,” she added.

Kirtley said King’s message needs to reverberate now, more than ever, given the nation’s social and political division and strife.

“It’s so important we come together, to do what’s right. There are things we can do to come together to make it a safe place to live and thrive,” she said.