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January 15, 2024, is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Sunday, January 14, 2024, is Human Relations Day on the United Methodist Special Days Calendar. This is a time for us to remember the life-changing reforms initiated by Dr. King and recommit to the principles of equity and justice.

It is a time to step back from our daily lives and ponder how are we fostering a beloved community that embraces every voice? As one person, one congregation, one community and one conference how can we make a difference to further God’s justice and grace for all?

In 2022, Rev. Lionel Muthiah, shared his experiences as a Sri Lankan Tamil transplant from Malaysia with writer Nikki Deckon on staff at Friendsview. Pastor Lionel is a retired elder of the Dakotas Conference, who currently lives at Friendsview, a retirement community in Newberg, Oregon.

Lionel’s introduction to the United States began in Tennessee during 1956—a volatile time for the civil rights movement. “I wanted to observe race relations in the South,” he shared. “So, I asked to be sent there through a Crusade Scholarship with the United Methodist Church.” The church sponsored his enrollment into the Scarritt College for Christian Workers (now the Scarritt Bennett Center) in Nashville, Tennessee. Segregated busses and not being served in cafés with friends of color are just a few of the racial tensions Lionel experienced almost immediately. It was years later that he would even run into roadblocks to ordination simply for marrying Marion, a white woman from North Dakota.
 

Rev. Lionel Muthiah. Dakotas Conference file photo.

After getting married in 1959 and serving for a few years as missionaries in Malaysia (where two of their four kids were born) Lionel and Marion settled in North Dakota. His dream of being ordained in the United Methodist Church took significantly longer than usual because of being in a “mixed marriage” according to the leadership at the time. Eventually, he did receive his certification and continued his mission to understand race relations in America. Lionel’s journey took a big hit when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968. Like many of us during monumental moments in history he recalled his exact location when he heard the news. He was driving between Canada and his home in North Dakota when the shocking announcement came over the radio. “I had to pull over to the side of the road and weep.” He remembered the time Dr. King spoke at a chapel service at Scarritt. “He was more likely to host an altar call than to incite everyone to pick up arms,” Lionel recalled from that inspiring service.

Pastor Lionel has been instrumental in organizing a MLK celebration in the community of Newsberg for several years. It has become a family event.  Read more

As we approach the celebrations of Dr. King and Human Relations Day, Philip J. Brooks, United Methodist Communications, shares ways for churches to celebrate Martin Luther King Day. Discipleship Ministries has suggested resources for Human Relations Sunday.