Beloved Community Grant

As early as 1956, Dr. King spoke of The Beloved Community as the end goal of non-violent boycotts. He said during a speech at a victory rally following the announcement of a favorable US Supreme Court Decision desegregating the seats on Montgomery’s busses, “the end is reconciliation; the end is redemption; the end is the creation of the Beloved Community. It is this type of spirit and this type of love that can transform opponents into friends. It is this type of understanding goodwill that will transform the deep gloom of the old age into the exuberant gladness of the new age. It is this love which will bring about miracles in the hearts of men.”

The Greater Detroit District’s Martin Luther King Celebration Committee believes that today, King would still be preaching of the Beloved Community—one woven together with agape love, one that is inclusive of all diversities, one that celebrates the humanness within each of us. The Greater Detroit District is the beginning piece of that within our world. It is the most diverse district in the Conference, and we wear that with title with a Badge of Honor.

At our yearly MLK Celebration last January, our Committee introduced The Beloved Community Grant. This grant strives to recognize the ways in which churches as a whole are drawing the circle wide. Our goal is to offer them a financial gift to help them grow the programs and outreach they have developed to extend openness, tear down walls of differences, and lift up those in their immediate communities with the love of Christ.

In order to do this, we need your help! We rely on your donations in order to gift the selected congregations the grant. In the current turmoil of our world today, we know many of us feel at a loss as to how to continue to move forward. Most of the time, the answer lies in choosing to do the next small thing of love, of kindness, of generosity. If each of us donated just $5.00, the impact on our local churches would be significant. While we recognize it is only July, time moves quickly, and we hope you’ll take the time today to donate what you can. Thank you in advance for your generosity, and make sure to save the date for our Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Celebration service on January 11, 2026. We hope to see you there!

If you have any questions, please contact Susanna Klimek, Director of Mission Engagement, at [email protected].