Baylor celebrates MLK Day with memorial service and acts of service

Given how Dr. King spent his life, it seems very fitting that Martin Luther King Jr. Day is becoming recognized nationwide as a day for service. Yesterday’s MLK Day marked the 25th anniversary of the day becoming a federal holiday; events at Baylor over the weekend celebrating the man and his memory included a candlelight march across campus, a worship service at Miller Chapel, and the dedication of a new community garden from which produce will go to serve those in need locally. (See photos from the weekend’s events here.)

The garden is an especially interesting project, bringing together several different disciplines in the name of serving others. Located at Ninth Street and Bagby Avenue just south of campus, Baylor’s Community Garden will utilize sustainable water-use technologies designed and tested by Baylor students. Once it is established, between 80 and 90 percent of the garden’s produce will be used by Campus Kitchen, a student-run organization that provides nutritious meals to local agencies such as the Salvation Army and Family Abuse Center. (The Campus Kitchen students also prepared and served 1,300 lunches for volunteers at service sites across Waco on MLK Day.)

The MLK Day celebration will conclude Wednesday with a luncheon featuring keynote speaker (and Baylor graduate) Dr. Kenyatta Gilbert, BA ’96, assistant professor of homiletics at the Howard University School of Divinity in Washington, D.C. Gilbert will speak on: “Where Do We Go From Here? Chaos or Community,” the title of King’s last book. The event is free and open to the public.

Sic ’em, Baylor Bears with servant hearts!