In Celebration of the Life and the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today in chapel, we celebrated the life and the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
 
Chapel led with a prayer from Father Adibari and continued with hymns, songs, and presentations from faculty members Mr. Mullen, Mr. IIjas, and Ms. Schlieser. Ten boys, Michael Bamford and Reid Hansen (first grade); Nicholas Thomson (second grade); Xander Vanier (third grade); Andrew James (fourth grade); Prem Patel (fifth grade); Alex Kindler (sixth grade); Kenson Morris (seventh grade); and Parker Robinson and Mac Hocking (eight grade) also delivered part of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech originally given at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963.
 
Mr. Mullen closed the celebration with the following remarks:
"As we close out today’s chapel, let’s take a moment to reflect on the impact of the Northern California Episcopal Bishop James Pike and the Grace Cathedral. During the 1960’s, Bishop Pike, a progressive man, preached against racism, apartheid, capital punishment, anti-Semitism and farm worker exploitation. He supported gay rights and pushed for a “fair wage” for San Franciscans."

"In 1965, as a part of the Festival of Grace, celebrating the 1964 completion and consecration of Grace Cathedral, Bishop James Pike invited Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to visit and preach at Grace Cathedral. Dr. King accepted and took the podium on March 28th, the fourth Sunday of Lent. This was three days after Dr. King led some 2,000 people on a five-day, 54-mile march from Selma to  Montgomery, Alabama."
 
"After reviewing his 30-minute speech from 1965, I will leave you with a Douglas Malloch quote that Dr. King eloquently recited.
 
'He must seek to develop his inner power in a brilliant manner. No matter how small it may be according to the world's standards, he must see that it has cosmic significance if it is for the building of humanity," King says. He must come to see that whatever he is called to do has significance if it is for the making of a better world.'
 
'So if you can't be a pine at the top of the hill, be a scrub in the valley. But be the best little scrub on the side of the hill. Be a bush, if you can, be a tree. If you can't be a highway, just be a trail. If you can't be a sun, be a star. For it isn't by size that you win or you fail.'

'Be the best of whatever you are.'"
 
To listen to Dr. King’s 1965 two-part sermon from Grace Cathedral click on the links below.
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Cathedral School for Boys

Located in San Francisco, California, Cathedral School for Boys is an independent elementary school for boys in Kindergarten – Grade 8. Our mission is to provide an excellent education through intellectual inquiry and rigor that is centered in the Episcopal tradition and is respectful of and welcoming to people of all religious traditions and beliefs.