Yesterday, January 20, 2019, community members gathered at Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the third annual march from the church to Town Hall. The celebration and walk was originally organized in 2017 by then-Commissioner Reverend Larry Whitley following his successful efforts in 2016 to have the town recognize MLK Day as a town holiday. The walk has grown each year, with town leaders, staff, and many community members participating.

After a documentary about Dr. King, Pastor Whitley, Dr. Chuck Wilson, Mayor Paul Bailey, and Chief Clark Pennington (following a police escort) led the walk from Mount Moriah Church to Town Hall. At the destination, Pastor Whitley, Dr. Chuck Wilson (Matthews United Methodist Church), Mayor Paul Bailey, Nate Huggins (Blessed Assurance Adult Day Care), and Stelli Meyers, a youth representative from Matthews Presbyterian Church spoke on the significance of Dr. King and the importance of continuing his legacy.

We asked a few people who work for the community of Matthews to share their thoughts and hopes for 2019. Here’s what Dr. Chuck Wilson, pastor of Matthews United Methodist Church, told us:

*Photo courtesy Matthews United Methodist Church*

I want to work much harder at remembering names and forgetting slights.
I want to move from destructive criticism towards redemptive engagement.
I want my spouse to marvel at how much better we are at listening than early in our marriage.
I want to be increasingly less quarrelsome, sarcastic, and easily offended.
I want to think about fixing people less and loving people more.
I want to do everything I can to NOT do unnecessary damage to a person’s reputation.

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