Saturday, April 4, 2026
Liturgical Color: White/Gold
Palm Sunday
Almighty and everlasting God, in your tender love for us you sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon himself our nature, and to suffer death upon the Cross, giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and come to share in his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Holy Week
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. For our sins he was lifted high upon the Cross, that he might draw the whole world to himself; and by his suffering and death he became the author of eternal salvation for all who put their trust in him.
Prophetic Witness and Renewer of Society
Ecumenical Commemoration
Baptist minister and prophet of the twentieth century who led the American civil rights movement through nonviolent resistance. Recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (1964). Assassinated April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. Commemorated in the broader Christian tradition (ecumenical tier, not exclusively Anglican) for prophetic witness to justice, beloved community, and Christian moral witness.
Martin Luther King Jr. was born January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. He earned his doctorate in systematic theology from Boston University and was ordained to the Baptist ministry. As pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, he emerged as leader of the Montgomery bus boycott (1955-1956), which catalyzed the modern civil rights movement. King championed nonviolent direct action, drawing on the example of Mahatma Gandhi and the teaching of Jesus. He delivered his most famous address, 'I Have a Dream,' during the 1963 March on Washington. In 1964, King received the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the youngest man at that time to receive the award. He was assassinated by James Earl Ray in Memphis on April 4, 1968, while supporting striking sanitation workers. His legacy transformed American law, culture, and Christian witness.
Prophet and spiritual leader of nonviolent resistance; advocate of beloved community and racial reconciliation; witness to the moral demands of the gospel in the face of injustice; symbol of courageous Christian witness in the 20th century.