"It has always been the responsibility of the church to broaden horizons, challenge the status quo, and break the mores when necessary. The task of conquering segregation is an inescapable must confronting the church today."     Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Stride Toward Freedom , 1958

Please join us Sunday January 15th at South City Church  for annual #ReclaimMLK events. This year's training and teach-in is the third year that Faith for Justice has sponsored, and we are pleased to have local partners continue to join us (including MCU, St. Louis Action Council, and MIRA) in affirming the initiatives of Forward Through Ferguson by explicitly centering the most marginalized people of color.

Sunday's events run from 5 to 8pm. 5:00pm Training (and Unity March, weather permitting). 7:00pm Teach-in & Celebration. Dinner and refreshments are provided, and we offer free childcare for ages 0-5 for the entire time. Share this page, or the facebook event, to invite your neighbors and friends! Click to view the Reclaim MLK facebook event.

Every year around this time, our nation - and much of the world - is invited to remember Dr. King and the enduring legacy of the early Civil Rights movement. Those who endured the Ferguson Uprising know that the struggle for Civil Rights is far from over. So when we remember figures like Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Baker, the Black Panthers, Malcolm X and others, we participate in a movement to reclaim the vision of Martin and his contemporaries. Liberation requires a common goal, not identical strategies. Our hard fought freedoms are a reason to celebrate, and fellowship together. But they must also be the inspiration to struggle on. Last year, Faith for Justice joined partner organizations and churches around the St. Louis region in calling the church to Get Woke and Stay Woke, inspired by Dr. King's sermon "Remaining Awake Through a Great Revolution".

This year, we are inspired by the words given to the prophet Isaiah, about the Lord's march to victory for his people: The Lord will march forth like a mighty hero; he will come out like a warrior, full of fury. He will shout his battle cry and crush all his enemies. Isaiah 42.13

And by the words of Dr. King in his book Stride Toward Freedom: "To accept passively an unjust system is to cooperate with that system...noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as cooperation with good."

We hope you will join us!  Sunday January 15th at South City Church. 5:00pm Training (Unity March, weather permitting) // 7:00pm Teach-in & Celebration Dinner and refreshments provided; free childcare for ages 0-5 .

St. Louis City Mass Choir will lead music. We are pleased to announce that the Reverend Karen Anderson will be our keynote speaker. We met Karen and sat under her leadership in the days of the Ferguson Uprising, and have been blessed to call her friend and counselor, and partner in the local struggle for liberation.

More about our Keynote Speaker: Rev. Karen Anderson 

The Reverend Karen Denise Anderson is an Itinerant Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and proud pastor of Ward Chapel AME Church in Florissant, MO.  She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Webster University, St. Louis and a Master of Divinity, with emphasis in Pastoral Care and Counseling, from the Turner Theological Seminary at the I.T.C. in Atlanta, GA.  Prior to ministry she spent more than 23 years in nursing and healthcare administration. 

She is actively engaged on the local, conference and district levels of the AME Church serving on various boards including the Conference Trustees, Finance Committee, and Board of Examiners in addition to serving as the Missouri Conference Coordinator for Women in Ministry (WIM) and Secretary for 5^th Episcopal District WIM.     

Rev. Anderson is equally engaged in the community.  Serving as Board President for Gamaliel’s Metropolitan Congregations United (MCU), Board Member Magdalene St. Louis, Cabinet member of FLOURISH St. Louis and the Interfaith Partnership of St. Louis, Co-Chair of Hazelwood School District’s Clergy Coalition and member of CAP (Community Against Poverty)-Early Childhood Education Committee.  Rev. Anderson was featured in the 2013 issue of Who’s Who in Black St. Louis and delivered the invocation for the opening of the 2010 Summer Session of the Democratic National Convention held in St. Louis.  She is a member of Theta Phi International Honor Society for Theological Education and of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

Rev. Anderson has a genuine love for God’s people and is particularly passionate about empowering young women through wisdom sharing.  She co-founded “When Women Gather…” an ecumenical bible study for women and “The Mother’s March for Justice” which was actively engaged in the fight for justice in Ferguson and St. Louis. 

She is grateful for every opportunity to preach and teach the Gospel and to serve the community, however, when asked about her greatest accomplishment she will say her family.  She and husband, Joseph share three adult children Justin (Samyra), Alexia (Darryl), and Amanda.  They are proud and doting grandparents to five beautiful grandchildren. 

Through her life and ministry she desires to share the liberating message of reconciliation through love as reflected in the scripture “For I am convinced…that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” Romans 8:38-39 with all whom she meets.

Come and hear from Pastor Karen as she brings a word to us this Sunday.