Photograph by Skye Dunlap
Hula Dancers From the Island Moves family center brought some rhythm to the MLK Day celebration: L - Lauren Inouye (8), Kanoe Kahaku (3) Dorian Tokuno (11) and Cheryl Schlitter.
Living the Dream
Cupertino's Good Samaritan Church hosts the South Bay's biggest MLK celebration
By Jeff Kearns
An event that felt like something between a normal church service and a party, the seventh-annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration at Good Samaritan United Methodist Church brought more than 500 people together Sunday, Jan. 17. Organizers say Cupertino's is the is the biggest MLK Day celebration in the South Bay.
After a pot-luck dinner of foods from around the world, more than 15 performing groups took to the stage for a three-hour show that ended with an audio excerpt of King's "I have a dream" speech and a candlelight finale song, "Let There be Peace on Earth."
Performances included drummers from Saratoga Taiko, the Bethel Korean Praise Band, hula dancing and, as a finale, the roof-raising St. Paul's Pacific Islander Choir.
Most of the performances were by young people who came from Good Samaritan and other churches as far away as Gilroy, Boulder Creek and Fremont. Rev. Dr. Rachel Berry, the celebration's main organizer, says the focus on youth is the point of the event.
"As a family, we've always celebrated Dr. King's birthday in some way, and in the churches we've been appointed to, we've always tried to do some kind of special celebration," says Rev. Berry, who along with her husband Rev. John Kraps is Good Samaritan's co-pastor. Their three children, Imy, Johnny, and Rachel, also helped put the event together.
Says Rev. Berry: "I want my kids to live in a better world, and that means for people to get along. And part of that is seeing diversity as a resource to be enjoyed rather than a problem to be solved.
Photograph by Skye Dunlap
David Brawn (3) sings in the Good Samaritan Cherub Choir.Rev.
"Sometimes it's important not to blend in with everyone else, to stand up for what you believe even if you must stand alone, and Dr. King represented that."
Even though Good Samaritan's parish is mostly white, Sunday's celebration included performances from a variety of cultures in front of an audience of all races and several religions. Rev. Kraps says more and more Asian families have joined his church over the last few years.
"Part of the goal is to educate young people about Dr. King's life and beliefs and who he was and what he did," Kraps says. "We especially want to remind people that he was a pastor, too, and emphasize his pastoral message as well as his social message. He didn't set out to be a giant of our time, he set out to address the suffering of his flock as a pastor, and the suffering of his flock was so intertwined with the social structures of our country that, by addressing it, he also became involved in a great social movement."
Photograph by Skye Dunlap
Rachel Berry, co-pastor of the Good Samaritan United Methodist Church, helped organize a celebration in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Cupertino Councilmember Michael Chang, who has made a mission of promoting diversity and bridging cultural gaps, also spoke at the celebration, urging children who might not be sure who Dr. King was to ask their parents. "Dr. King stood up for a lot of people in this country," Chang said. "In fact, he stood up for everyone in this country."
Monica Bailey, one of three teens who made the drive from Gilroy to perform a song, said none of them had ever been to the Good Samaritan celebration before, but, she said, "we know we're going to come back to it next year."
For Sunnyvale resident Brittany Lin, 15, who sang songs backed by a combined band from Good Samaritan and Trinity churches, it was her third year attending the event. "It's a great chance to meet all different people and see all different kinds of musical groups."
Cupertino, California Since 1947
