The Rev. Stephen Swisher stood at the front of his congregation like he does at the beginning of every Sunday morning service at Saint John’s United Church of Christ in Newark and asked, “Are there any special prayer requests?”
After a few seconds pause, an older man sitting alone three pews from the front quietly raised his hand. “The shooting in Minneapolis,” he said.
Just days earlier, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good during an immigration enforcement operation in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This has since resulted in protests and demonstrations nationwide – including in downtown Newark on Saturday – calling for the removal of ICE from U.S. cities.
The service was never more poised to address this specific prayer request rooted deep in civil rights than on Jan. 11th at 10:30 a.m. On this Sunday, the Rev. Joel L. King Jr. joined the congregation as a guest speaker.
King, 74, of Gahanna, is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s first cousin and has carried on his work fighting for civil rights. He serves on the board of directors for the Columbus NAACP, and he represents Ohio on the National Martin Luther King Jr. Day Commission.
King described the current state of civil rights in America as “sad” and noted that his cousin would certainly feel the same way. In his speech, King addressed head-on divisive civil rights issues, such as the ICE shooting in Minneapolis.
“We have an empathy deficit when we have ICE agents shoot innocent protesters,” King said.
When asked afterward about the recent actions by ICE agents, including the Minneapolis shooting, King responded, “Why? Why do we have to do that? If they’re not legally here, then let’s get the pathway where they can be.”
He continued: “Technically, we’re all here illegally because it wasn’t our land in the first place.”
King spoke to about 50 people at the church service, and more who tuned in virtually, with a powerful, booming voice and a strong conviction.
He lifted his eyes from his notes to those listening intently in the pews as he spoke about the other deficits Americans are enduring – an empathy deficit regarding cuts in local taxes undermining children’s education. An empathy deficit when “the CEOs are making more in 10 minutes than some workers make in 10 months.” An empathy deficit “when farmers are paid to destroy their crops while homeless (people) go hungry.”
As King quoted scripture and gained rhythm in speaking about the detrimental deficits the nation is experiencing, many in the congregation reflected his energy. They showed their agreement aloud in unison with an audible “yeah” and “mm-hmm.” They chuckled at King’s remarks that indirectly called out some of the perpetrators of the nation’s divisiveness.
Rev. Swisher, 43, began the service with this opening prayer: “Gracious God, we live in times of division, mistrust and violence. Open our hearts and minds to your truth and renew our commitment to justice and peace pursued through cooperation and love.”
Swisher said he first met King at an event last fall in Columbus and connected over their shared relationship with Wyatt T. Walker – who had been Swisher’s mentor in his doctoral work and, earlier, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Chief of Staff. Swisher invited King to speak in Newark as a way to foster engagement within the local community and honor the legacy of the late Dr. King, whose birthday on Jan. 19 is a national holiday.
Swisher said he wanted listeners to be inspired to “put feet to our faith and reality to our religion.”
He noted the importance of addressing current events in his sermons while also acknowledging the diverse array of political viewpoints that exist at St. John’s UCC.
“We all have the common denominator of human beings,” Swisher said. “If I can talk about issues that we’re facing in America, or that the world might be facing, in a way that is not offensive or puts anybody down, but rather just says ‘this is something that we’re all facing, how can we face it together and how can we mutually elevate, lift each other, lift our community, help one another?’ I think that’s the bottom line.”
In the face of nationwide division, King was clear on the necessary solution – unity. He referred to unity as our nation’s “great need.” He said this solution requires selflessness, honesty, sacrifice and hard work. He argued that these efforts must go beyond legislation and directly change the hearts of individuals.
“In the injustice we see today, do they join together in the north and south? Rich and poor? Christian, Jew, and Muslim? Then perhaps the wall will come tumbling down some more,” King said.
Robin Green, 77, of Newark, called King’s words “inspiring.” Green, who has been a member of Saint John’s UCC since 2015, said she saw segregation firsthand as a child and in having to fight for her rights as a female attorney. She worries that the country is moving backward in regard to civil rights and appreciated King’s call for unity.
On Aug. 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., and spoke to hundreds of thousands of listeners. “I have a dream,” he said. “That one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”
Sixty-three years later, his cousin, the Rev. Joel L. King Jr. stood at a lectern in Newark, Ohio, and said, “Each year, we are slowly [moving] away from his dream – this direction that he told the nation in ‘63. Each year, we become more divisive.”
Monday, Jan. 19 marks 40 years since the first official federal observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day – and according to Joel King, what’s at stake in our nation today is humanity.
“The barriers of justice and equality must come down,” King said. “And to do this, we know that unity is the great need of this hour.”
Katie Houpt writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.