Minister recounts King’s ideals
WAYNESBURG – Waynesburg College celebrated Martin Luther King Day on Monday with a convocation that included speeches and music with spiritual themes. Addressing a crowd at the college’s Alumni Hall, the Rev. Elward Ellis, pastor of Crossroads Presbyterian Church in Stone Mountain, Ga., touched on many of the ideals espoused by the civil rights pioneer, including fellowship, brotherhood and unity.
In his speech, “Neighbor Keeping in 2003,” Ellis talked about King’s ministry, his trust in Jesus Christ and how everyone should pull together in faith, using King as a model.
However, societal influences and present-day attitudes have prevented many people from fully realizing King’s message of unity, Ellis said.
“We all have egos. We all have issues. …We don’t know how to be a community today,” Ellis said.
“We do not do living and relating well, because we don’t have handles.”
The president of Destiny Movement Inc., Ellis has served as the national director for black staff at Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship and has spoken at colleges and universities throughout the United States.
Responding to a reading from the Book of Genesis, Ellis said, “Am I my brother’s keeper? I am my brother’s keeper, because I am my brother’s brother.”
He spoke on a down-to-earth level, drawing students, faculty, staff and visitors of the college together.
“If we do not find a way to love, we cannot become the ones God wanted us to be,” said Ellis.
Tom Ribar, the college’s chaplain, led the celebration, and college President Timothy R. Thyreen offered an introduction.
As an added attraction, the college’s director of housing, Cynthia Thompson, and students Hope Douglas, Dewayne Pate and Marie Alcide, sang a group of ethnic selections entitled “Gospel Songs.” The a-cappella performance received a standing ovation.