News Article

Gonzaga University will offer prayer to celebrate the life and legacy of American civil rights champion Martin Luther King, Jr., from 6-8 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 17 in the University Chapel, located on the third floor of the Administration Building. Gonzaga is closed Monday in honor of King’s birthday.

This year’s celebration is a call for “Peace through Prayer.” The celebration will begin with a short introduction followed by 10 minutes of silence. Organizers ask those who plan to attend to come prepared to engage in serious prayer. The goal is to generate as many prayers for peace as possible, in as many languages as possible, in the Sacred Space of Gonzaga’s University Chapel.

King once said, “Once you have resorted to violence to accomplish peace you have already lost.” In the spirit of this courageous leader, Gonzaga’s Jan. 17 event is an attempt to focus on the desire for peace of people everywhere — not on struggles that divide people and nations.

The event is being organized by The Unity House Cultural Education Center at Gonzaga and is free, open to the public and to people of all faiths. For more information please contact Bob Bartlett, director of Unity House, at (509) 323-4108 or Ki’Jev King at 323-4105 or via e-mail at kgurley@gonzaga.edu.

Anyone interested in presenting a prayer in their native language during the prayer service should contact Ki’Jev King at kgurley@gonzaga.edu by Jan. 12. In addition to this event, the following events will be held at Unity House this month:

* Jan. 17-19 -- MLK video speech series in Pandini’s at Cataldo Hall – all day.

* Jan. 19 -- African-American artist Faith Ringgold Exhibit opens in Jundt Art Museum.