Community Joins Hands, Hearts For Martin Luther King Jr. Service

CUTCHOGUE, NY — A joyful and united community came together in Cutchogue Sunday to celebrate the life and message of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Organized by the Southold Town Anti-Bias Task Force, the event was held at the the Cutchogue Presbyterian Church and North Fork Reform Synagogue, with keynote speaker Rev. Tisha Williams of the First Baptist Church of Bridgehampton.

Val Shelby, co-chair of the ABTF, spoke first during the uplifting service, which was infused with song and community; she was followed by Rev. Richie King, pastor of the Cutchogue Presbyterian Church, who shared the need for individuals to "stick together" even during turbulent times. "We must come together, work together," he said.

Steven Hill, president of the North Fork Reform Synagogue, highlighted the need to fight back against anti-Semitism. "The time is right to do what's right," he said.

Rabbi Barbara Horowitz Sheryll of the North Fork Reform Synagogue also spoke. Rev. Dr. King's words, "I have a dream," she said, "planted the seeds that resulted in the Civil Rights Act, banning racial discrimination in schools, places of employment and public places — and voting laws that would change the landscape of our democratic process. Now's as good a time as any to take stock in the progress we have made."

Sheryll spoke of recent local dark events, such as KKK literature being distributed in Hampton Bays and reports of anti-Semitism in the Mattituck Junior-Senior High School. "Rep. Steve King asked when it became offensive to use the terms 'white supremacist' and 'white nationalist.' We are here today to ask, 'When wasn't it offensive?'" Sheryll said. Many in attendance applauded.

Local elected officials including Southold Town Deputy Supervisor Bill Ruland and Greenport Village Deputy Mayor Jack Martilotta both spoke; ABTF member Leroy Heyliger read excerpts from Rev. Dr. King's "Letter From Birmingham Jail."

King was imprisoned in 1963 as the result of his continued crusade for civil rights, Heyliger said. The letter, written on toilet paper, is a legacy, he said. "In it, he noted, 'I guess it easy for those who have never felt the stinging darts of segregation to say, 'Wait.'" King's letter "stands today as one of the great writings in American history," Heyliger said.

Greenport High School student Christina North read "I Have A Dream;" other children sang and a Mattituck High School student shared her artwork. Musical selections were also highlighted.

During her keynote speech, Rev. Williams conveyed a strong message: "I need you to survive." She spoke about how humans, no matter what race, religion, or demographic, need one another "Solitary confinement is a confinement of a prisoner alone in a cell," used as a method of torture.

"Human beings are not built to withstand that type of isolation," she said. "Some of us are suffering from spiritual solitary confinement. . .We think it's okay to go it alone . . .As believers, we need each other and we need relationships because, quite frankly, God said so." She added, "A cord of three strands is not easily broken."

She mentioned God's creations and said even after creating Adam and the paradise of the Garden of Eden, "It wasn't good for man to be alone. Something was missing. It was companionship."

A dream car or home means nothing without people and friends to share fellowship with, she said.

Williams also spoke about the critical difference between a deposit and an investment; between, for example, giving out holiday turkeys and instead, creating a soup kitchen to help feed the hungry year round.

She talked about King and the fact that he understood a diversified network of friends from all walks of life was important — and about the need for that network to stand together, and how strength comes in numbers, from standing alongside one another, not alone in a sometimes scary situation.

"Our country is in a scary place, a spooky place today," Williams said. "Now is not the time for us to split up." During days when nuclear war is a threat, when the government is experiencing a shutdown, when 8,000 churches shut their doors last year, she said: "It's still scary but with friends beside us at least we have a fighting chance."

The third strand in the cord, she said, is God. "With God, we can conquer everything," she said.

Former Mattituck-Cutchogue Union Free School Superintendent Anne Smith gave a heartfelt tribute to former ABTF member Franke LePre who, she said, "was a gift to the community. When you looked into his eyes, you saw his heart, his soul." A coach, Scout leader, foster parent, he touched countless lives, she said. Her own son, when he was small, once said he thought his coach was "too big." She smiled. "He was larger than life. He needed to be, to hold that heart," she said.

Susan Dingle called upon the community to join in a call to action, helping the needy every day.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. devoted his life to "quality, social justice, economic advancement and opportunity for all," said the Southold Town Anti-Bias Task Force. "He challenged us to build a more perfect union and taught us that everyone has a role to play in making America what it ought to be. He famously said, 'Everyone can be great because everyone can serve.'"

After the service, those in attendance joined for fellowship and conversation.

Photos, video by Lisa Finn.