Marching in the light of God
Mennonites display commitment to reconciliation
By AMY GINGERICH

More than 250 gathered to walk from the Georgia World Congress Center through downtown Atlanta streets and out to the Sweet Auburn district and Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King Jr. once served as a co-pastor.

“I’m a school teacher and I teach about Martin Luther King Jr. and I wanted to see where some of these events took place,” said Cheryl Lehmann of Sioux Falls, S.D.

For Lehmann, participating in the march furthers her commitment to ways of peace. In the last year, she has participated in anti-war marches in Sioux Falls but yesterday’s gathering was “the biggest march I’ve ever been in.”

Organizers wanted public activities to give demonstration to Mennonite Church USA’s commitment to peace. The march was also envisioned as a way for the church to reconcile a “parting of the ways” in the 1960s between Mennonites, many of whom were unsure of how to work within the civil rights movement, said the organizer, Les Horning.

The march allowed Mennonites to reflect on “where we have been, where we have failed and where we are going” with the work of racial reconciliation. A few carried “Pray for Peace Act for Peace” banners or flags, but the walk was mostly introspective. A few cars or passersby showed the peace sign or gave a honk in support.

“I know that Martin Luther King Jr. wanted us to be friends with whites and blacks and [we are marching today] to show people that we still believe in it,” said Mariah Martin, 10, of Glenwood Springs, Colo.

Marchers arrived at Ebenezer Baptist Church and gathered in an outdoor amphitheater. Dorothy Harding of Atlanta led the audience in singing and recalled her memories of living in Alabama as a 9-year-old when King was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn.

Harding’s granddaughter, Precious Robertson, 8, said King’s memory can remain alive today when we reach out and “be friends with white people and black people and everybody else in this world. We all should get along.”