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Pastors John & Constance with Bishop Charles Blake (National Bishop COGIC)

Church service honors God, King's dream and Obama's success

TAYLOR VERNARSKY
Staff Writer

LEESBURG -- Hundreds of people gathered during a church service to honor the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Sunday afternoon at the Leesburg Church of God in Christ.

The church service, sponsored by the Greater Leesburg Ministerial Alliance, commenced with more than a remembrance of the late martyr. It also precedes the inauguration of Barack Obama -- the first black man to be elected president of the United States.

"It just shows that the country is moving in the right direction," said Leesburg City Commissioner John Christian, who was one of the pastors on hand during the "Yes We Can" Rally church service.

Christian, along with Superintendent Lonnie Smith of the Leesburg Church of God and Apostle Dannie Williams of Leesburg's Citadel of Hope, led the congregation an upbeat ecumenical service.

While celebrating the achievements of King and Obama, the selected pastors discussed the importance of church and God in everyday lives.

As King was a Baptist minister in his early life, it only seemed fitting to hold a service.

The Rev. Isaac Deas, a pastor with The Father's House, rattled off on the importance of God to remove whatever stress people may suffer from. With him, he said they can learn who they are and place God first in their lives.

"It's about God," Deas said on the pulpit. "It's not about us."

Smith preached about the importance of family and how it deserves the same amount of commitment and dedication as is attending church.

As people travel great distances to see the Obama inauguration in Washington D.C., Smith emphasized the need to deal with issues commencing within their own homes.

"I'm convinced that we're better than what we're doing," he said. "I'm convinced that our families have not seen the best of us yet."

Whether it's abuse, neglect, infidelity or abandonment, there is still work to be done, Smith said.

Throughout the service, the Christian Worship Center choir performed select songs to get the attendants up on their feet in praise.

With events throughout the weekend and today dedicated to King's memory, people of different cultural backgrounds have come together in a spirit of brother and sisterhood to celebrate his life, who was instrumental in the civil rights struggle.

At the same time, they can celebrate Obama's achievement when he takes the office of U.S. president Tuesday.

In 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., King talked about his "dream." In it, he said, people from different cultures, races and backgrounds would overlook their differences one day and live in harmony and equality.

Fast forward about 46 years as many people see Obama's election as U.S. president a culmination of the dream down to a community level.

But Christian said Obama is not the dream itself, but rather part of the dream.

"There's still a lot of work to do," he said. "It's a huge step for not only African Americans but for all Americans. But we can't get complacent. As long as there is still drugs, crime and poor education in this country, we still have some ways to go."