New pastor highlights East St. Louis’ 58th annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration
The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Program Committee will host its 58th annual celebration of King’s life and work.
The program at Southern Missionary Baptist Church, 2801 State Street, begins at noon Monday. It will feature Pastor Juan Conway, a Kinloch, Missouri native, who is the congregation’s newly installed pastor.
Dr. Martin Luther Jr. Publicity chairman, Chris McIntosh, describes Conway as a man with a passion for community.
“He is the founder and CEO of the Quad City Community Development Center. located at 1634 7th street in Madison,” McIntosh said. “He has lived in the Belleville-Swansea area for 25 years. He is married, the father of eight children and grandfather to six,
Conway says he admires King for “taking the gospel outside of the church” and living its words. As a pastor, he says he believes in paying his blessings forward.
The theme of the day’s celebration will be “Mission Possible: Protecting Freedom Justice and Democracy”
“I want to encourage and remind everybody that no matter what we are facing right now, no matter the adversity we have right now, the mission is still possible,” Conway said. “We must remember all that we have already accomplished.
“This celebration is a great opportunity for us to be reminded of the many missions that were deemed impossible are visible and most assuredly have been proven possible now. And, we must protect freedom, justice and Democracy.”
Conway pointed to slavery, Jim Crow laws, the right to vote for both Black citizens and women, and segregation as examples of things once thought to have been impossible to overcome.
“We are living in things that 100 or 200 years ago people said were impossible,” he said.
It took the kind of unity preached by Dr. King to create that change, said Conway.
“I most admire Dr. King’s ability to stay focused. Threats to his life, severe beatings and stabbings, the water hoses that were turned on him, the dogs that were turned on him, didn’t deter him,” Conway said. “I know those were painful experiences, but he took the brutality that confronted him on his mission to do God’s works for all people.
“Dr. King made such an impact on this world and departed this world before I was even born, and I am still reaping the benefits of his work. … On his birthday, we must celebrate, we must commemorate. We, the people, must keep the dream alive.”
Other MLK Day events will be held across the metro-east. Here’s a list:
Sunday
▪ 46th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day commemoration hosted by the Alton branch of the NAACP — 3 p.m. Sunday. Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, 2621 Amelia St., Alton. Reginald Riddle-Young of the East St. Louis Monitor will be the keynote speaker.
Monday
▪ Martin Luther King Jr. Community Breakfast Service hosted by the O’Fallon NAACP #3041 — 8 a.m. Monday. New Life In Christ Church, 689 Scott-Troy Road, O’Fallon. Tickets cost $25. Timothy Lewis, director of Black Studies at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, will be the guest speaker.
▪ Martin Luther King Jr. Day Program — 10 a.m. Monday. Mount Joy Missionary Baptist Church, 327 Olive St., Edwardsville. Crystal Officer, CEO of Beverly Farm Foundation in Godfrey will be the keynote speaker.
