Zion Church Ministries held its 18th Annual the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Breakfast Monday, Jan. 15 at the Edward G. Connolly Center.
Bishop Robert G. Brown, Senior Pastor at Zion Church Ministries, welcomed the large gathering to the breakfast that honored the great civil rights leader and orator, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was born on Jan. 15, 1929.
guest speaker, the Honorable Justice Talesha L. Saint- Marc (center) of New Hampshire, and her mother, Willette Caynon, to Everett at the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Breakfast.
Mayor Carlo DeMaria, Sen. Sal DiDomenico, and City Council President Robert Van Campen offered words of congratulations to the Zion Church Ministries on behalf of the City of Everett, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the Everett City Council respectively.
Everett High School guidance counselor Kelley Buonpane accepted the Zion Ministries Church Scholarship on behalf of senior Lilian Odiari. Past scholarship recipients Shreeya Muyaju, a first-year student at Yalee, and Loyd Joseph, a third-year student at Northeastern, thanked Zion Church Ministries and spoke of their college academic careers and future goals.
The Honorable Justice Talesha Saint-Marc was the guest speaker. “This morning has been just a beautiful program, really inspirational and moving,” said Justice Saint-Marc. “I never imagined that I would stand before you today as the first Black federal judge in New Hampshire or the first Black female judge in New Hampshire.
“Today is a special day, not just because we’re honoring the life of Dr. King, who is a man of God and a pillar of the civil rights movement, but also because it’s a moment of unity. It’s a moment of collective purpose and resolve. All across America people of diverse backgrounds are putting aside their differences to honor the past and commit to a better future.”
Saint-Marc encouraged guests facing a pivotal moment in their careers and lives to “believe in yourself.”
“My hope is that aspiring lawyers will look at me and that they will see my story, and it will inspire them to pursue being a lawyer and to pursue being a judge. I hope that they will realize they have this uninhibited sense of possibility – a possibility that they can, too, can aspire to break barriers, achieve their dreams, and their goals. I want to encourage you all to continue chasing your dreams no matter how wild they may seem and encourage your kids to chase their dreams as well. There are a lot of people who want to discourage our kids. This world is very discouraging for kids sometimes, but really, as a parent, focus on pushing your kids’ dreams forward. And I encourage you all to just to continue breaking glass ceilings. It may be hard but persevere and push. Continue making history. There’s so much more history for all of us to make. It shouldn’t be in 2023 that I’m the first, but that tells you that there’s so much more history for us to make. So, continue making history. Continue positively impacting your communities. Continue pushing for equality and for justice. And continue being a force for social change. My God bless you all and may He bless your efforts to move social justice forward,” concluded Justice Saint -Marc, who received a warm ovation for her inspiring remarks.
The Everett High School Choir performed musical selections during the program.