10:00-11:30 MLK Day of Service, “Safety & Justice in our Beloved Community”

10:00 Zoom Session: Gather and Welcome;
“Discover the element of good in your enemy. And as you seek to hate him, find the center of goodness and place your attention there and you will take a new attitude.” – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Hate destroys the hater as well as the hated … Because if you hate your enemies, you have no way to redeem and to transform your enemies. But if you love your enemies, you will discover that at the very root of love is the power of redemption. … And by the power of your love they will break down under the load. – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

10:10-10:40 Listen to MLK Speech of I Have A Dream in community

10:45-11:15 Zoom Rooms:

• The Not in Our County pledge- join Gwendolyn for history of the pledge and learn about next steps and ways to hold accountability. Supplies will be available at the Church for pickup- signs, cards and stickers. Send emails asking folks to sign and make plans to deliver their business card, sticker and yard sign. Make social media posts #allhandsin #niot #NiotBerkshires #BRIDGE413 #bridge413
• Valentine Making for Elders - Make Valentine’s for Elders and deliver them to BRIDGE for distribution to Elders by Feb. 14th. Bring Supplies to your Zoom session to make Valentines’ for our local elders.
• Dream Corner - Do the Clouds together. Or post to make Social Media posts for Dream Challenge.
  • **Community challenge: Tell us your dream for 2021. What will you do to get us there in community? Take pictures and post on social media and tag BRIDGE. Find us at BRIDGE413 ,on IG multicultural-bridge and friends of BRIDGE, on Twitter at BRIDGE413, tag us on Facebook. Use hashtags #bridge413 #revdrmlkjr #ihaveadream #allhandsin. Tag us and let us know at BRIDGE your dream ~families and children welcome!
• Tech Support - Tech Support with BRIDGE - BRIDGE Volunteer Jeff Lowenstein will be available in a Zoom room for bilingual tech support in English and Spanish. Come get help with questions like:
  • Help with Zoom (signing on, learning all the features/options)
  • Broadband issues
  • Options for free software
  • General tech support and any other questions!
  • We will work to answer all your questions and will follow up on any issues we can't help with in the moment after the Day of Service.
• Food Drive - First Congregational Church in Great Barrington. Please drop off reusable grocery bags, supplies for COVID safety, hygiene, household items, and culturally relevant & staple foods for diverse communities (increments of 25 is useful to us). We serve 100 families biweekly. You can also donate here to support our mutual aid efforts (please write in "mutual aid support" in the Paypal form), and find more ways to support BRIDGE here.

11:15 Closing (15 min)

12:00-1:00 MLK Program “Safety & Justice in our Beloved Community” - Rev. Forte, Rev. Allman Morton and Rev Letman IV with Gwendolyn VanSant, Stephanie Wright & more:

• Welcome, Safety & Justice in our Beloved Community
• Prayer, Rev Forte
• Song, “Lift Ev’ry Voice”
• Reading from Dr. King, Stephanie Wright
• Perspectives: Rev Allman Morton (5 Min), Rev. Forte (10 Min) and Rev. Letman IV (10 min from Isaiah and Amos), Leigh Davis (5 min-T)
• Silent Meditation, “This Little Light of Mine”
• Community Reflections and Sharing, Stephanie Wright
• Reading of Dr. King, “Loving Your Enemies”, Gwendolyn VanSant
• Generosity & Gratitude, Food Drive
• Song - Benediction, “We Shall Overcome”, Rev Forte
• Closing

2:15-3:00 New Pathways Lab: Listening Session and Community Forum on Safety in Community: Talking through Concerns regarding Hate Crimes and How to Protect our Community
In this New Pathways Lab, we will talk about our rising concerns around safety and justice in our community with District Attorney Andrea Harrington, Director of Community Engagement Bryan House, Assistant US Attorney Scott Garland (Hate Crimes Specialist), Assistant US Attorney Deepika Shukla (Chief of Springfield Office) and Community Outreach Specialist Cara Henderson to discuss safety in our community, what has been threatening it and what we want to do about it? These representatives from our local and regional justice offices will come to listen to community voices and plan for future work alongside our communities and houses of worship.

January 7 | 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm EST

​For more info, click here.