Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Annual Celebration of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King

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All are invited as the Interfaith Council of New Canaan hosts its annual celebration of the life of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., at the United Methodist Church of New Canaan, 165 South Avenue, on January 15, 2024 at 10:30 am. The Service will feature inspiring music from the Pivot Men’s Choir and Khanisha Moore, along with special guest speaker the Reverend Adrienne Reedy. Members throughout the local faith communities will also participate. Donations of non-perishable food items for the New Canaan Food Bank will be accepted and greatly appreciated.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Interfaith Service Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr.

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The Interfaith Council of New Canaan is pleased to sponsor the 18th Annual Interfaith Service celebrating the life of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. The Guest Speaker is Reverend Christian Peele, who has served as Executive Minister of Institutional Advancement at the Riverside Church in New York City, as well as in the Obama White House. There will be inspiring music, including the Serendipity Chorale of Southwestern Connecticut, featuring baritone Edward Pleasant. Refreshments will be served after the service, and donations of non-perishable food for the New Canaan Food Pantry will be accepted.

Around Town

‘A Little Better Than Yesterday’: Hundreds Attend Interfaith MLK Service in New Canaan

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A native of Memphis, the city where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968, George Walker Jr. has felt a lifelong connection to the civil rights leader. 

An ordained minister himself, Walker attended King’s alma mater, Morehouse College in Atlanta, pledging the same fraternity, then launched a career that’s included positions on the U.S. president’s Board of Advisors for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, a member of the American Leadership Council for Diversity in Healthcare and as vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. This past weekend, Walker recalled Monday while addressing a packed United Methodist Church as the guest speaker during New Canaan’s annual celebration of King’s life, a King quote that he had “decided to stick with love” because “hate is too great a burden to bear” came to Walker’s mind. Following a workout and lunch in Manhattan, Walker said, he and his husband were riding a subway back uptown when he spotted an “older black woman who caught my eye.”

“She had several ‘I love Jesus’ buttons and a placard I couldn’t read,” during the  17th Annual Interfaith Service of Worship, which drew more than 250 people on a freezing cold Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 

“When the opportunity came about, my spouse gestured for her to take a seat. I was standing. Her protest signs were signs about a Jesus that I do not recognize.