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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE For
more information: AMBASSADOR
ANDREW YOUNG TO SPEAK IN MEMPHIS AT CHURCHES UNITING IN CHRIST'S PUBLIC
APPEAL TO END RACISM, MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY 2002 MEMPHIS,
TENN. (Dec. 7, 2001) - - - In April 1968, Rev. Andrew Young came to
Memphis with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The
sanitation workers were on strike, and although many (including Young)
thought that Dr. King shouldn't interrupt his plans to go to Washington,
D.C., for the Poor People's Campaign, Dr. King said that he couldn't
turn his back on the garbage workers in Memphis. So,
to Memphis they came. Andrew
Young was in the parking lot of the Lorraine Motel, waiting by the car
to go to dinner, when James Earl Ray's shot felled Dr. King. Now,
on January 21, 2002 - on the day that honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
- Ambassador Andrew Young will be the keynote speaker at Churches
Uniting in Christ's public appeal to end racism.
The ceremony will take place at the National Civil Rights Museum,
housed in the former Lorraine Motel, at 450 Mulberry Street. Seen
as the most comprehensive church unity movement in U.S. history,
Churches Uniting In Christ (CUIC) represents a new way of being church,
not a new council of churches and not a restructuring of church
organizations, say leaders of the movement. Recognizing that the biggest
obstacle to unity is racism in this country, CUIC has voted to appeal to
all Americans to work toward ending racism in all forms. About
300 representatives of the following denominations will gather in
Memphis in the days before the King holiday to worship, study and
publicly announce their intentions: African Methodist Episcopal Church,
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ), Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Episcopal Church,
International Council of Community Churches, Presbyterian Church
(U.S.A.), United Church of Christ, and the United Methodist Church.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a Partner in
Mission and Dialogue. The Roman
Catholic Church, the Moravians and the American Baptists are Consultant
Observers. "For
Martin Luther King's death to bring together the representatives of
these churches 30-some years later is extremely significant," said
Ambassador Young. "Even
though we are coming together publicly, I think we have to also recall
that this is something that began almost immediately. "One
of the immediate effects of Martin's assassination was the coming
together of people of faith. They
came together in their businesses, churches, schools and communities. The difference is these are denominational institutions that now
are coming together," said Young. On
Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the morning's ceremonies are scheduled to
begin with a gathering at City Hall in remembrance of the 1968
sanitation workers' strike and the march to City Hall by the clergy of
Memphis the day after King was killed. Participants will follow CUIC
leaders and denominational representatives, sanitation workers, members
of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME),
and other dignitaries in a symbolic march down Main Street to the
National Civil Rights Museum. The
group will walk behind the processional cross from St. Mary's
(Episcopal) Cathedral in Memphis that was carried by clergy during the
1968 march. This is the first
time in almost 34 years that the cross will be used in a public
ceremony. At
the museum, Ambassador Young will be joined on the balcony of the
Lorraine Motel - the site where Dr. King was slain almost 34 years ago -
by the leaders of nine denominations representing 22 million Young
said he always has "mixed feelings" when returning to Memphis. Andrew
Young, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, is chairman
of the $100 million Southern Africa Enterprise Development fund and
chairman of GoodWorks International. He
serves on the boards of directors of numerous institutions, including
the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Non-Violence.
He served three terms in Congress and was Ambassador to the
United Nations under President Jimmy Carter. The
January inauguration of CUIC immediately follows the termination of
Consultation on Church Union, or COCU, after 40 years of discussions
among the church organizations. According
to COCU/CUIC General Secretary, The Rev. Dr. Michael K. Kinnamon, CUIC
provides new ways for millions of Americans to carry out their faith, by
increasing the number of shared worship services, ministries and
missions throughout the country. At
its core, CUIC promises to change the very way Christians view each
other by mutual recognition and respect for the "gifts" each
tradition brings. Denominational
leaders - clergy and laity - will gather on January 20th at the historic
Mt. Olive CME Cathedral in Memphis, where King visited several times in
1957 when he spoke at a Civil Rights' rally.
Here, they will pledge that will recognize one baptism, they will
periodically celebrate the Eucharist together, and they will work
together to achieve a shared vision of disabling racism at every level
in American society. CUIC
also continues theological discussions, including how to reconcile
differences regarding ministry, with the expectation of reaching a
consensus on the issue by 2007. CUIC/COCU
offices are in Lowell, Mass. ###
Editor's note: For more information on the January event in Memphis, contact David Brown of Conaway Brown, at 901-527-6163. To arrange an interview with Dr. Michael Kinnamon, please contact Lois Ford Long, director of media relations at Eden Theological Seminary, 314-918-2568 (office), 314-210-0464 (mobile) or at cuic@ucc.org. |
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