Martin Luther King Jr. speaks to a crowd of about 5,000 outside Sproul Hall at the University of California, Berkley, on May 17, 1967. Photo: Associated Press
[Episcopal News Service] Jan. 19 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and Episcopal churches and schools nationwide will celebrate with worship services and events centering on social justice.
While the civil rights leader would have turned 97 on Jan. 15, activities will take place around the official federal holiday commemorating King on the third Monday in January.
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was the key leader in the nonviolent equality movement for Black Americans in the 1950s and 1960s. Based in part on the impact of the 1963 March on Washington and King’s “I have a dream” speech, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act and a year later the Voting Rights Act. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, at 39, during a trip to Memphis, Tennessee, to support city sanitation workers who were striking for better pay and working conditions. He is honored in The Episcopal Church’s Lesser Feasts and Fasts calendar on April 4.
The following is a list of some Episcopal institutions hosting or participating in community-led Martin Luther King Jr. Day events. Check online locally for additional events. All times listed are local.
Washington, D.C. — Washington Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde will preach at the eighth annual MLK Holiday D.C. prayer breakfast at Covenant Baptist United Church of Christ on Jan. 17. The event will begin at 9 a.m.
New York, New York — Episcopal Divinity School and Riverside Church, an interdenominational church in Manhattan’s Morningside Heights neighborhood, will co-host “MLK Now 2026: A Prophetic Witness for Our Time” on Jan. 18 at Riverside Church. The program will begin at 11 a.m. with a worship service. Throughout the day, guest speakers will address various topics on social justice and service, and musicians will perform works inspired by King’s ministry.
San Francisco, California — Grace Cathedral will host a series of events on Jan. 18, beginning with a celebratory Eucharist at 11 a.m. The Rev. Stephanie Spellers, canon-in-residence at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in New York, New York, will preach.
At 3 p.m., the cathedral will host a livestreamed interfaith service in partnership with the Northern California Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Foundation. Spellers and California Bishop Austin Keith Rios will join faith leaders and academics in addressing this year’s theme, “Liberty, Justice and the Beloved Community.”
Immediately after the service, Aaron Grizzell, executive director of the Northern California Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Foundation, will moderate a livestreamed discussion on King and faith, community and society at the cathedral. Spellers, Sylvester Johnson, chair and professor of Black Studies at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and Angela D. Sims, president of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in Rochester, New York, will be the guest speakers.
Seattle, Washington — Members of St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral will participate in an afternoon of service on Jan. 18 beginning at 12:30 p.m. Volunteers will participate in various activities benefiting local nonprofit partners with services addressing homelessness, disabilities and education.
Brooklyn, New York — St. Mary’s Episcopal Church will host a special service honoring King on Jan. 18 at 4 p.m. Local musical soloists and ensembles will perform music inspired by King’s advocacy, including a mixture of hymns, spirituals and gospel music. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York will deliver a keynote address.
West Hartford, Connecticut — Members of St. James’s Episcopal Church will volunteer for various community service activities throughout Jan. 19 as part of a designated day of service. Activities will include participating in local food donation programs, moving furniture and making deliveries for a nonprofit addressing homelessness, assisting elderly people at a senior living center and more.
Denmark, South Carolina — Voorhees University, one of two historically Black Episcopal-affiliated universities, will host a community breakfast on Jan. 19 at 7:45 a.m. At the event, students, alumni, educators, clergy and civic leaders will reflect on this year’s theme, “Honoring the Dream. Advancing the Vision,” which highlights Voorhees’ “principles that defined the life and legacy” of King – academic excellence, faith, leadership development and social justice.
Cohasset, Massachusetts — St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church will host a breakfast on Jan. 19 at 9 a.m. The program’s featured guest speaker, the Rev. Edwin Daniel Johnson, director of organizing for Episcopal City Mission in Boston, will address “momentary reflections” on King’s legacy.
New Orleans, Louisiana — The Chapel of the Holy Spirit will host a day of service supporting various ministries in the Diocese of Louisiana. Beginning at 9:30 a.m., volunteers will assemble “hygiene bags,” assist with a food pantry and children’s book program, make cards for prison inmates, assist with a local animal shelter, weave sleeping mats for unhoused people and more.
Austin, Texas — Students and teachers at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School will participate in educational activities throughout the day on Jan. 19. They will listen to guest speakers, including former Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, address this year’s theme, “Unity Through Love.” Curry emphasized love throughout his episcopate and is known for stressing in many of his sermons, “If it’s not about love, it’s not about God.”
Cheshire, Connecticut — Members of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church will march in the state of Connecticut’s Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities’ annual MLK Children’s March for Peace on Jan. 19. The march, which the church is co-hosting, “seeks to bring people from town and beyond to celebrate the life and teachings of Dr. King, focusing on our children as the catalysts to realize his vision of inclusion, nonviolence and respecting the rights of each and every one of us.” The event will begin at noon with a prayer service and bell-ringing ceremony at St. Peter’s, followed by the march at 1 p.m. Children are invited to make signs for the march during the service.
Hendersonville, North Carolina — Members St. James Episcopal Church will participate in a day of service on Jan. 19. Volunteers will gather at St. James at noon for a brief program highlighting King’s life and advocacy. They will then pack rice and beans for The Storehouse, a Christian ministry that addresses food insecurity in Henderson County.
Trenton, New Jersey — Trinity Episcopal Cathedral will host a celebration service honoring King on Jan. 19 at 3 p.m. New Jersey Bishop Sally French will celebrate. Kimme Carlos, a postulant to the priesthood and anti-racism trainer in the Diocese of New Jersey, will preach.
-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.