Ecumenical Ministry members put together the memorial program.
FARMINGTON – Three sisters listened to people speak on poverty in Franklin County Monday during a Martin Luther King Jr. service.
Alice Paul, the oldest of the sisters, Rose Oliver and Ernestine Dupont bowed their heads in thought and raised their voices in prayer.
The service inspired “people of goodwill to put their bodies and their soul in motion,” just as King urged in a March 1968 speech.
The Rev. Scott Planting took the more than 50 attendees on an imaginary drive around Franklin County with King, a civil rights leader in his time.
The entourage made several imaginary stops. Among them: empty factories, food cupboards and a church.
During the stops people would hear about financially strapped families living in poverty. They include the elderly, the disabled, the unemployed, the working poor and people just down and out of luck. They need food, heating fuel, medicine and clothing.
Members of the Farmington Area Ecumenical Ministry put together the program stressing the need to help people with needs in the county.
By the time the service was over, people were donating money or services, and making pledges to meet the challenge to help people work their way out of poverty.
“I agree with everything that was said – the whole 9 yards – because I’ve been through it,” Ernestine Dupont said. “It was a very good service. I enjoyed it.”
“It made me stop and think about things,” Rose Oliver said.
Their sister Alice Paul said she lives at a residence with other senior citizens.
“There’s not much I can do,” she said. “I try to cheer up some of the other ladies. I seem to be more active and can get around easier.”
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