Le Moyne celebrates MLK Day
Chelsea Holtman, Staff Writer
February 2, 2012
Filed under News & Features
Two weeks after the national observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Le Moyne College will host an event in remembrance of the legendary civil rights activist. On Thursday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m., both the Le Moyne community and the general public are invited to the Panasci Family Chapel to listen to a presentation by Rev. Kevin J. Agee titled “Everything in Decency and Order: Celebrating the Life of Martin Luther King, Jr.”
Agee has served as the pastor for Hopps Memorial Christian Methodist Episcopal Church on South State Street in Syracuse since 2007. He is a native of Washington, D.C., and served at churches in Virginia, Connecticut and New Jersey before settling in the Syracuse area. Agee is also the chairman of the Committee on Ministerial Examination of the New York-Washington Region of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.
Since his arrival in Central New York, Agee has been deeply involved with the Syracuse community. He was recently named president of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Syracuse & Vicinity (IMA) and he is a Clergy Caucus Co-Chair of the Alliance of Communities Transforming Syracuse (ACTS).
Agee also serves on the Community-Wide Dialogue to End Racism Advisory Board and is a member of the Faith Leaders Round Table of Interfaith Works of Central New York.
In addition, he is also a member of the Community Trauma Response Team and one of the volunteer on-call clergy for both SUNY Upstate Medical University and Crouse Hospital.
Agee has received several awards for his advocacy of social justice and community involvement here in Syracuse, as well as in the other cities where he has served.
The student development division of the college was interested in planning an event centered around the topics of civility and respect, according to Barb Karper, assistant vice president of Student Development.
Le Moyne’s Director of Service Learning, Gloria Heffernan, met Agee when they worked together at InterFaith Works and suggested him as a speaker. Hefferman felt that Agee would be an excellent choice to speak on the topic because of his passionate interest in the local community, his broad experience as an advocate for social justice and his considerable skill as a public speaker.
In addition to the talk, the Syracuse chapter of the Gospel Music Workshop of America, directed by Dr. Joan Hillsman, will perform.
Hillsman, now a Syracuse resident, is the retired supervising director of Music for the Washington, D.C., Public Schools and emeritus professor of music at Bowie State University in Maryland.
Local author Jackie Warren-Moore will also read selections from her poetry. Moore is a Syracuse poet, playwright, columnist and community activist who has published two volumes of poetry.
Those who attend are asked to bring an item of canned goods. The food collected will be donated to InterFaith Works of CNY. The event is free and open to the public.