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Funking for the Dream

Last night, a group of friends and I "funked for the dream" at a local dance club.  'Clubbing,' if you will, is not an ordinary activity for me, but you could say I was moved by the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King's extraordinary life, for which the party was thrown.  A small act in memoriam, but a fun one nonetheless.

I don't know if MLK ever got "funky," but he certainly didn't mind shaking things up.  He grasped a truth that society wasn't ready to recognize.  Through the splintered, wooden slats of oppression, he saw the light of compassion. And time and time again, he summoned the strength to carry freedom forward. 

Yesterday morning, I joined a dear family friend from New Orleans at the National Cathedral in Washington.  We attended the early Eucharist, sitting in the front row as witness to a beautiful memorial of Dr. King.  The sermon was a political message as much as it was a religious one.  "Act on what you wonder. God's truth is not ultimately a riddle to be solved.  It is a life to be lived.  It is a thing done."  Believing in something is not enough.  We must live our truth.  Watch the sermon here: http://www.nationalcathedral.org/exec/cathedral/mediaPlayer?MediaID=MED-5134V-2E001G&EventID=CAL-4VUNJ-G2000Q

Dr. King was a modern-day messiah, castigated for living a truth that the rest of us weren't ready for.  He lived through love, without judgment.  His was a life open to suffering and constantly offering compassion.  With balance and trust, he held the center.  He still does. 

Thank you, Dr. King.

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