CORAL SPRINGS, FLA. (WSVN) - Members of a South Florida church had something extra special planned for their Sunday service in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and it involved a song from an Oscar-winning film about the civil rights leader.
Hundreds of worshippers at Church by the Glades in Coral Springs got the chance to live out “Glory,” John Legend and Common’s stirring anthem from the 2014 biopic “Selma.”
Don't. Miss. #MLKweekend. We're excited to have @pastordhughes back this weekend, too! #MLK #GLORY pic.twitter.com/tMFKkieM3G
— cbglades (@cbglades) January 14, 2017
For the congregants, honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is time for something a little out of the norm, even though they practice what the church’s pastor, the Rev. David Hughes preaches year round.
“Make sure we’re not just in the church talking about how beautiful equality and honor and respect are; we practice it in our everyday lives,” said Hughes.
The special performance of “Glory” paid tribute to the events depicted in director Ava DuVernay’s critically acclaimed film, like the march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., as King and others fought for equal voting rights.
“The Dr. Martin Luther King that we know is the Reverent Dr. Martin Luther King,” said Hughes. “He was a pastor, and he loved his congregation, and he loved the word of God.”
Churches, service organizations and cities around South Florida are using the King holiday weekend for community service. At a concert in observance of the holiday, Sunday night, audience members heard the Gary Palmer Band and the Dillard Center for the Arts Jazz Ensemble at the Sunrise Civic Center.
The holiday also gives local entities the opportunity to reinforce the message King championed decades ago. “Our church is wonderfully diverse,” said Hughes. “Dr. King believed in principles that are biblical principles. Dr. King was a pastor before he was an activist, so ideas like equality, respect, justice are things that we celebrate here every weekend, especially this one.”
Church members also worked on a service project with the City of North Lauderdale funded by a grant from Broward College.
“Glory” won the only Oscar “Selma” received, Best Original Song.
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