“Everybody can be great … because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” -Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
As we embark on another year and celebration of the life of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, I invite us all to take this opportunity in the new year to think more broadly and open to how you can be of service on this particular day.
Traditionally, we all think about the community service projects that we can immerse ourselves in or we’ve reached out to the local nonprofit organizations we’ve been planning to volunteer with. I want to invite folks to think of taking this day to be of service to self. This is a day where we have an opportunity to get “down and dirty” (weather permitting) and contribute physical labor but this is also a day where we can take some time to invest in ourselves and our continued education and learning, service learning.
This day of service can take on an entirely new meaning for each and every person if you take the opportunity to pick up that book you’ve been holding onto or research and learn about a social justice or civil rights issue. The legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, is not only about activism and service. It was his own commitment to continued education and learning. He modeled the power of nurturing one’s mind, body, and spirit and the ways in which it allows us to be better prepared in the fight for justice. Self-service learning is more accessible now than ever before; we have robust resources available online and a variety of texts available in our libraries.
If you are able to get out and participate in a city or community led service project, I invite you to consider an initiative outside of your immediate neighborhood/community. Especially if you’ve participated with the group before. What a great way to learn from and meet members in another part of our community at large than to immerse ourselves in those spaces? The beauty of leading with an open heart is being vulnerable to venture onto something and someplace new. It’s easy to stay within our comfort zones and feel good about how we’re contributing on January 16th but I know there is a more powerful way to reach our stretch zones and make new connections. We live in a beautifully diverse county; why not take this day and many more to come to learn from all those who inhabit this place.
I will be spending the day coaching club volleyball and intentionally starting a new text “Psalms for Black Lives: Reflections for the Work of Liberation,” a necessary text to center myself to remember the ways in which my faith grounds and guides me. This in addition to continuing to volunteer in the community, is an important refresh as I prepare for another year long journey of community service.
Happy Spiritual Birthday, Dr. King. May we all continue to learn, lead, and lend grace.
Kirstyne Lange
President, Santa Rosa – Sonoma NAACP