CATSKILL — Martin Luther King Jr. fought for racial equality during his short life, which ended when he was assassinated at the age of 39 in 1968. While his life’s achievements were recognized over the holiday weekend celebrating his birth 95 years ago, Catskill’s Second Baptist Church recognized King’s life with reflection and prayers.
The church held a Remembering Dr. King service Sunday to celebrate the civil rights leader’s life and mission.
The Rev. Shanell E. Turpin became the senior pastor at Second Baptist Church in the fall after her father, the Rev. Richard Turpin, retired following 25 years of ministry.
Turpin said people should know King’s words, back in the civil rights era, are still applicable to the African American community today. “The impact of his words back then still resonate within our hearts today and will continue to impact our future generations,” Turpin said. King solidified his legacy as one of the most powerful civil rights leaders in U.S. history. His powerful speeches, including his “I have a dream” speech, marches, sit-ins and protests for racial equality and social justice are missions that continue today. King once said, “The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by human beings for breaking down injustice and destroying the terrible walls which imprison people because they are different from others.” King was gunned down April 4, 1968 on the balcony of his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, where he had gone to fight for the rights of striking sanitation workers. Turpin reflected on King’s influence on her life. “Dr. King set a great example,” Turpin said. “His leadership skills have helped me ascend to the role of senior pastor at Second Baptist Church. He just didn’t want Black people to come together, he wanted all people to come together because he showed us that we shouldn’t be just for ourselves, we should be for everybody. Not only did he work for the church and for the African American community, but he also worked for everyone so that they could have more opportunities and equal rights.” Turpin learned her leadership skills through watching her father’s involvement in community activism, his preaching for over 25 years, and emulating King’s fearlessness, she said.
“Being a Black woman, I am grateful for King’s leadership,” Turpin said. “When it comes to bridging the church and the community together to accomplish our goals, there is no greater example to follow. He addressed the disparities in our community and he tried to unify all people. My father is the best pastor I have ever had. His humble spirit and his heart for the people are unmatched. My father loves people and always wants the best for everyone. He is about inclusivity and is about mission and outreach. I learned a lot about including everyone when it comes to ministry by watching and working with him. The one thing I took from my father is that we all matter and we’re all in this together.” Turpin’s father, Richard, credited King for his decision to become a pastor. “Besides Jesus himself, Dr. King has been the inspiration that keeps me going for the community,” Richard Turpin said. “It was because of King that I worked with the underprivileged, overlooked, those who have been outcasts, those who have gone through the struggle of segregation and discrimination. It’s a great joy that I have been able to follow the example that Dr. King has left us. I don’t view the weekend as a weekend to take off, I view it as a weekend to keep going and moving forward.”