‘It’s a peace walk, we are praying’: Nearly 100 gather at St. Bernardine on MLK Jr. Day

“Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us.

Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us.

Facing the rising sun of our new day begun, let us march on till victory is won.”

Parishioners and guests of St. Bernardine Church in West Baltimore sang the hymn “Lift Every Voice and Sing” at the beginning of a prayer service Jan. 16 at noon, during the parish’s 10th annual Peace Walk in honor of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Monsignor Edward Michael Miller.

The hymn was the beginning of a call to action, similar to that of Isaiah 6:8: “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?’ ‘Here I am,’ I said; ‘send me!’” 

On the day the United States observes a federal holiday in honor of the murdered peace activist who stood up for his dream, Bishop Bruce Lewandowski, C.Ss.R., auxiliary bishop of Baltimore and urban vicar, reminded those participating in the walk of the parallels between the prophet Moses and the ordinary people who now still strive for justice and equality.

“The promised land wasn’t Moses’ idea. He didn’t wake up one day and say ‘Why don’t I lead these people out of slavery and why don’t we just cross the desert and why don’t we just go to a land and call it our own?’ It was the response to a call. It was a divine initiative. It was God’s wish and God’s desire,” the bishop said.

“It is easy to dismiss that and say it’s about us, or saying, ‘It was just Dr. King’s dream, let’s just leave it with him, and say we don’t have these problems.’ How easy it is to forget that the promised land that we all long for is God’s dream and God’s desire?”

Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Denis J. Madden spoke about how his friend, Monsignor Miller, like the Rev. King, was not afraid to speak out about injustice.

“Ed always said, ‘How can we pray, and ask God for peace, and ask for the end of violence in our city if we don’t love one another?’ He wanted us all to all have that Gospel spirit of truly loving our neighbor as our self,” Bishop Madden said about Monsignor Miller, who served as pastor of St. Bernardine from 1980 until his death in 2013. “Ed always felt that was the way to deal with the violence in the city.”

Dr. Daria J. Willis, the first African American president at Howard Community College, spoke before the start of the peace walk, saying “For every step forward, we take two steps back. When our ancestors fought, they bled, and literally died for the rights we enjoy today. But we can not give up or give in to what we see. Instead of complaining about it, we must do something about it. And not just on Martin Luther King’s Birthday.” 

The nearly 100 walkers drew the attention of the community. “What are you doing?,” a neighbor asked as she left her house to rush to the parishioners of St. Bernardine and St. John the Evangelist in Columbia, who were walking the streets of West Baltimore.

“It’s a peace walk, we are praying,” one of the walkers answered. 

Email Mitzy Deras at mderas@CatholicReview.org

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