The Bishop of Washington, D.C., got all the attention when she spoke truth to power, asking her listener to “have mercy on the people in our country who are scared” because of his threats. But in Springfield on Inauguration Day there were petitions and prayers just as strong. The Frontiers International Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast itself was a prayer, as some 890 gathered at the Crowne Plaza on a cold morning to demonstrate solidarity in the cause of racial harmony. Supreme Court Justice Lisa Holder White quoted King saying his dream is “deeply rooted in the American dream” of everybody having equal rights and a fair chance, while calling for nonviolence and respect for God. Retired Rabbi Barry Marks prayed for legal and social justice. In most years these themes are special but hardly radical. This year, by contrast, they seemed to ring the bell of freedom. – Fletcher Farrar, editor
This article appears in Healthy, wealthy and wise 2025.
