MLK Day of Service and Learning planned for January 15


Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2024 will be celebrated as “A Day of Learning and Service for All Ages” on Monday, Jan. 15, at the First Presbyterian Union Church, located at the corners of Temple Street and North Avenue in Owego. January 2024 is the 95th anniversary of the birth of Dr. King, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, civil rights activist, and preacher. The public is invited, especially children and youth accompanied by adult family members, on this national holiday. 

The day will start at 11 a.m. with an intergenerational project of making hygiene kits to help in disaster relief efforts. These kits will be distributed by the ecumenical relief agency, Church World Service (CWS). Consider donating items to make the kits. Financial donations to buy the items are also welcome.  

Each kit will contain one hand towel measuring approximately 15″ x 28″ to 16″ x 32″ (no fingertip, bath, dish towel or microfiber); one washcloth; one wide-tooth comb; one fingernail or toenail clipper; one bath-size bar of soap in the original package; one toothbrush in the original package; and ten standard size Band-Aids.

Please note that hand towels and individually wrapped, soft toothbrushes (available at the Dollar Store) are particularly needed. If you are buying items in larger quantities, please let them know which items you are bringing. Donations of individual items are very much needed, as well.

A simple lunch of pizza, hot dogs and veggie trays will be offered at 12:15 p.m. The lunch is free with donations welcome.

At 1 p.m. there will be a free movie for adults. The movie “Rustin” tells the story of the overlooked civil rights activist Bayard Rustin (Colman Domingo), often called the architect of the 1963 March on Washington. A review of the film can be found at Visual Parables, https://readthespirit.com/visual-parables/rustin-2023/.

Additional information about all of these events is available from the church office by calling (607) 687-1682 or by email to pastorcarolyngillette@gmail.com.