Prayer breakfast in Crystal Lake honors Martin Luther King’s legacy: ‘Look for the good in our fellow man’

Dozens of people reflected on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.‘s legacy Monday morning at the Holiday Inn in Crystal Lake, during FaithBridge’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Interfaith Prayer Breakfast.

FaithBridge was founded in 2007 and “encourages interfaith communication, understanding, cooperation, spiritual practice and action,” according to the organization’s website.

Last year’s breakfast was called off because of cold weather on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and while Monday’s high was forecasted to be in the single digits, the 16th annual prayer breakfast went on as scheduled.

Suzanne Martinez, the chair of FaithBridge, said the organization brings together religious leaders of different backgrounds and brings them into authentic dialogue. Martinez added King “lived and worked by a concept of dialogue, a very human process that reflected his dream.”

King “lived by his ideals of racial equality” and human dignity, Martinez said.

The breakfast featured prayers from various religions and a performance from the choral ensemble from the Second Baptist Church of Elgin, who sang “The Lord is Blessing Me” and “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

After the performance, keynote speaker Stella Jones delivered the speech, “Interpreting the Dream: In Our Time.” Jones reflected on some of King’s ideals, including all men would be created equal.

She recognized, without naming her, the vice presidency and later presidential campaign of Kamala Harris. Harris whose father is Jamaican and whose mother is Indian, was also the first woman to serve as vice president.

“I would definitely say that that’s making progress, but we still have a long, long way to go,” Jones said.

Both she and Martinez spoke fleetingly of the inauguration of President Donald Trump, taking place the same day, both noting the deep divisions in the country in how he’s viewed.

She nodded to King’s quote that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. She said King traveled from state to state to fight injustice and work for everyone. She also nodded to King’s vision of people sitting together at the table of brotherhood, and said FaithBridge and similar groups had modeled what that can look like.

“We need far more FaithBridge organizations. What would the world look like if all communities were FaithBridge?” Jones said.

After Jones' address, the attendees pondered questions at their tables, including “What impact has Dr. King’s message had on your life, over the years?” and if attendees dream about changes in society and what are they doing to make those changes a reality.

Jones went around the tables at the breakfast and shared some of what she had heard during the discussions. Some of the common themes included that King’s message was for all people, not just Black people and people see there’s something wrong in society but it can be fixed. Jones also encouraged attendees to see the good in others.

“I challenge all of us to look for the good in our fellow man,” Jones said.