MVNU, Kenyon to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

MOUNT VERNON, Ohio — Mount Vernon Nazarene University, in conjunction with Kenyon College and the Knox County community, will host the 19th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration on Monday, Jan. 17, at 10 a.m. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held virtually through Zoom.

The theme comes from the powerful words of Poet Amanda Gorman, “In this year of yearning, we are learning.” The program will feature speaker Dr. Angelle M. Jones, adjunct professor at MVNU and founder and director of GlobalLife Coaching and Consulting, where she serves as a church consultant on race relations in the church.

Dr. Jones originally hails from Cleveland, Ohio. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in African-American studies from the University of Cincinnati. She has a master’s degree in Theological Studies from Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia, and an earned Doctorate in Ministry on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King and his philosophy of The Beloved Community from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.

The morning’s program will also include presentation of the 2021 Beulah Apostolic Award and Park National Bank Book Award winners.

There will be community responses from MVNU President Dr. Henry W. Spaulding II, Kenyon College President Dr. Sean Decatur, Mount Vernon Mayor Matt Starr, and Gambier Mayor Leeman Kessler.

The annual event is sponsored by The MLK Legacy Committee, Kenyon College, and MVNU. To register, click here, or search “Knox County Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration” on Eventbright.com. For more information, call 740-397-9000, ext. 4606, or email intercultural.life@mvnu.edu.

The reservation deadline is Thursday, Jan. 13. Links to the event will be shared with registrants on Friday, Jan. 14.

Mount Vernon Nazarene University is a private, four-year, intentionally Christian teaching university for traditional age students, graduate students, and working adults. With a 327-acre main campus in Mount Vernon, Ohio, MVNU emphasizes academic excellence, spiritual growth, and service to community and church. MVNU offers an affordable education both in-seat and online to more than 2,100 students from 42 states and nine foreign countries.

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