The Martin Luther King 2019 Church Celebration will take place on Sunday, January 20, at 3pm at the St. John Missionary Baptist Church.  This year’s theme is “Challenges Beyond The Dream - 50th Year.”   The service will feature a city-wide choir and a message.  

Guest speaker for this year's service is John W. Kinney, PH.D.  Dr. John W. Kinney is the Former Dean at the School of Theology at Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia.  He has devoted himself to the pursuit of excellence in theological training and ministerial preparation and has distinguished himself as a systematic theologian, academician and administrator in a career that spans over 35 years. He received undergraduate and graduate degrees from Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia and Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia respectively. He was awarded the Ph.D. from Columbia University/Union Theological Seminary in New York. He has also shared in instruction at Chicago Theology Seminary, Chicago, Illinois; Randolph Macon College, Ashland, Virginia; Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Virginia; and the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia.

Dr. Kinney has lectured extensively across the breadth of this nation and in Africa. He has been a featured lecturer at numerous Universities and colleges including, Yale University, Duke University, Michigan State University, Howard University, Southern Methodist University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and the University of Richmond.

The entire community is invited to be a part of this celebration.