2024 Interfaith Memorial Service

Bishop Frank Madison Reid III offered prayers for St. Petersburg, calling city leaders to the altar on Sunday, Jan. 14, at the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Interfaith Memorial Service held at Greater Mt. Zion AME.

BY FRANK DROUZAS | Staff Writer

ST. PETERSBURG – Interfaith Tampa Bay presented the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Interfaith Memorial Service themed “Created with Peace, Love, and Compassion; Not Hate” last Sunday, Jan. 14. Rev. Kenny Irby presided over the service held at Greater Mt. Zion AME Church, where Rev. Clarence Williams tends his flock.

Rev. Clarence Williams, senior pastor of Greater Mt. Zion AME

Mayor Ken Welch offered his greetings by praising city council members, Police Chief Anthony Holloway, among others, for helping move the city forward, and noted that the weaponization of religion may be tearing the country apart, but “faith is about love,” and thanked Interfaith Tampa Bay for its vision and asked for its continued support.

“We have some tremendous opportunities coming up in our city for economic justice, for social justice, and we’re going to ask for your partnership to move forward,” Welch said.

U.S. Representative Kathy Castor said it is “so incredible” to have a leader like Welch when there is so much change on the way in St. Pete. She said the administration’s slogan “We Are St. Pete” rings true, as “we are a people of diverse faiths, races, backgrounds,” and added that Dr. King’s legacy belongs to all of us.

“We have to keep moving forward; we have to move toward a future of peace and justice and equity,” Castor said. “We are capable of creating great change. We’ve seen it in our lifetimes.”

In introducing this year’s keynote speaker, Bishop Frank Madison Reid III, Rev. Williams said he is “the epitome of one who can truly be said that he speaks for those who cannot speak for themselves.”

’In this nation, we find that weaponization has divided the very spiritual foundation of all religions that are supposed to bind us together,’ said Bishop Frank Madison Reid III.

Reid, a fifth-generation AME minister, was elected and consecrated as the 138th Bishop of the AME Church at the 50th Quadrennial Session of the General Conference in 2016.

In his spirited speech, at times accompanied by soft organ music, Reid explained he’d first met Dr. King when he was only 10, as the famed reverend came to preach in St. Louis. Two years later, his father took him and his sister to the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963.

“As a 12-year-old, I really did not know what was going on in Washington on that day,” he said, “but what I do remember is that it was not just a Black march, it was not just a white march, it was not just a Christian march, but it was a march made up of Jewish people, Muslims, Christians. It was made up of people whose religious faith or secular faith taught that freedom and love and justice go hand in hand.”

Though everyone remembers King’s immortal “I Have a Dream” speech from that storied day, Reid pointed out that King also shared why they had all gathered in Washington, where the founders created the Constitution, which Dr. King called a “promissory note” that guaranteed all men and women the “inalienable rights of liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Yet, the nation has defaulted on this note as far as people of color are concerned.

Quoting Dr. King, he said, “Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given to its colored people a bad check, a check that has come back marked insufficient funds.”

Reid quoted Scripture, drawing parallels in the Bible to today and underscoring that we must work together to achieve meaningful ends like Nehemiah leading his people to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. He praised the 2023 memoir “The Remarkable Power of Us” by Mark Wilson, which extolls the benefits of the Black community coming together to be its best and strongest.

“Dr. King understood the power of us,” the Yale and Harvard graduate said. “The early American fathers and mothers who were living under the tyranny of the King of England understood the power of us. All great servant leaders understand the power of us.”

He paraphrased a famous Swahili quote, “Unity is strength, division is weakness,” and denounced the weaponization of faith, which had been going on long before the 21st century.

“In this nation, we find that weaponization has divided the very spiritual foundation of all religions that are supposed to bind us together,” he said, “and so they have used religion to kill God’s big dream of peace, love, and justice!”

When people worship and pray together, God “is up to something,” he said, adding that Dr. King always held prayer meetings before marches. And it was the power of prayer that guided Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation and abolish slavery.

“The power of us is the power of God,” Reid said, “and so today we must not only worship together, we gotta work together! It’s one thing to go to a breakfast tomorrow morning … but who is going to help the mayor and the city find money to provide affordable housing for the hungry, the homeless and the disenfranchised?”

Rev. Dr. Mari Gwen, Interfaith Tampa Bay representative, praised Dr. King’s ability to “walk in his truth, regardless of what was going on around him, to stay in a space of peace, and to stay in a place of forgiveness and love—this is what we all should strive for now, and that’s what we at Interfaith Tampa Bay are trying [to do].”

Readings and prayers for peace, justice, love, and hope came from Rabbi Phillip Weintraub, Congregation B’Nai Israel (Jewish), Rev. Kim Wells, Lakewood United Church of Christ (Christian), Imam Abdul Q. Aziz, Tampa Bay Area Muslim Association (Muslim) and Sepideh Eskandari (Baha’i Community).

Bishop Reid ended the service by calling city leaders to the altar and offering prayers for St. Pete.