Presbyterian College will celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with events on Monday, Jan. 21, and Wednesday, Jan. 23.

MLK events kick off with National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI) training in Chapman Conference room in Jacobs Hall on Jan. 21. During the training, students, faculty and staff will learn how to value what is unique about themselves while also learning how diversity shapes our experience of the world.

“We offer NCBI so that we can develop our community’s leadership skills in regard to diversity, equity, and inclusion,” said the Rev. Rachel Parsons-Wells, director of religious life and service at PC. “Through this workshop, we teach skills that help people to connect across difference with respect and civility.”

PC is one of only 23 NCBI campus affiliates across the country. The NCBI training is one of the many diversity and inclusion efforts at PC.

A Day of Service and Community

Students will volunteer in a service project from 2 to 4 p.m. later that day. Students will construct a dog-walking trail at the Laurens County Humane Society in Clinton. A number of student groups are participating in the service project.

“How Do We Get There From Here?”

The Rev. Dr. Leslie D. Callahan, pastor of the historic St. Paul’s Baptist Church in Philadelphia, will be the keynote speaker at the annual MLK Day Convocation. This year’s event will be held in Edmunds Hall at 5 p.m.

The theme for this year’s program is “King’s Beloved Community: How Do We Get There From Here?”

Rev. Callahan, from Gary, W. Va., began the public proclamation of the gospel when she was 19 years old. She became the first female pastor of St. Paul’s in 2009.

Rev. Callahan earned a bachelor’s degree in religion from Harvard University/Radcliffe, a master’s of divinity from Union Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. in religion from Princeton University.

She was ordained in 1997 at Judson Memorial Church and served as Minister of Christian Education at the First Baptist Church of Princeton, N.J.. Callahan also served as interim pastor of Salem Baptist Church of Jenkintown, Penn.

Rev. Callahan has served on the faculty of New York Theological Seminary (NYTS) as assistant professor of Modern Church History and African American Studies. Prior to her time at NYTS, she was an assistant professor of religious studies at the University of Pennsylvania.

A Feast for the Soul

A tribute dinner in honor of Dr. King will be served on Monday night in Greenville Dining Hall. The menu includes some of Dr. King’s favorites: fried chicken, collard greens, black-eyed peas, mac and cheese, cornbread, and pecan pie.

The next day, students will join members of First Presbyterian Church in Clinton to help feed the needy. PC students and community members will package rice, dried vegetables, and vegetable protein during a Rise Against Hunger event.

They’ll box up the food to send to impoverished places around the world.

Learn More

The MLK Day of Service is one of many opportunities students have to serve their community. Visit the Religious Life & Community Engagement pages for more ways that students carry out the College motto, “While we live, we serve.”