The Beloved Community: Making Dr. King’s Beloved Community a Reality Today
February 8 & March 1, 2014
The Glastonbury Martin Luther King Community Initiative (GMLKCI) sponsored a two-part forum entitled “The Beloved Community: Making Dr. King’s Beloved Community a Reality Today” at the Welles Turner Memorial Library on February 8 and March 1, 2014.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. believed that part of our destiny was what he called a “Beloved Community.” This is not a utopian dream but an achievable reality based on his belief that human beings are innately social and dependent upon each other. He once wrote, “We’re tied together in the single garment of destiny, caught in an inescapable network of mutuality.”
Deacon Arthur Miller, Director of the Office of Black Catholic Ministries for the Archdiocese of Hartford, facilitated the forum which was based on Dr. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” His lecture, video clips and discussion, explored what a Beloved Community looks like, how it arises and what each of us can do to foster the Beloved Community where we live.
This event was one of a series of forums part of the Community Conversations series sponsored by GMLKCI. Community Conversations bring together residents of diverse backgrounds, affording the opportunity to create deeper connections through meaningful dialogue and expression, in a safe, non-threatening environment. They are a way to promote understanding and acceptance of “the other,” so everyone feels that they belong to the community and that the community belongs to them.