WEBBTIDE 2001-2002 @ SHORELINE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Feb. 01 - Feb. 14, 2002 ARCHIVE GUESTBOOK HELP
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Got MLK?

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      A few months ago, I was baptized for what was either the first or second time in my life. My mom couldn't remember for sure if I had been baptized as a baby, although she said she couldn't imagine that I hadn't been.
      Needing a more precise answer, I decided to cover all my bases and get baptized on my own just to be sure. It was a full immersion baptism; I stood in a baptismal font in water up to my chest and was thoroughly and completely dunked by my pastor and my husband (who was also being baptized, since his folks couldn't recall if he'd been baptized either). When I came up out of the water, I felt a sense of peace and warmth such as I'd never quite experienced before. It was wonderful.
      The feeling I had during, and after, the MLK Jr., Day celebration was very similar to what I felt the day I was baptized. I was also enlightened in a big way regarding the legacy of Dr. King. I had always known he was a wonderful person, that he did great things which caused life to change for black people, but somewhere along the way I'd managed to miss the true meaning of all his work. I hadn't stopped to look at the man he was because I saw only his larger-than-life image.
      Also I hadn't realized that I, a white woman, could also benefit so much from Martin Luther King, Jr.'s words, concepts, ideas, and beliefs. At the risk of sounding ignorant (and I guess that's not such a terrible word, since we are all ignorant of things until we learn about them), I had spent my life thinking Martin Luther King, Jr. belonged only to black people. I thought of him as "the black man's JFK". Funny, though, I always knew that John Kennedy was mourned by blacks and whites alike, so why did it take so long for me to get it about Dr. King? As I listened to the speeches, testimonials, musical tributes, etc. throughout the day (my schedule that day allowed me to experience the celebration from beginning to end), I realized Dr. King's legacy was not just for black people who were oppressed. The message he left behind is one that can give hope and strength to anybody who's been bullied, domineered, tyrannized, and made to feel as though he or she is not worthy to participate in the human race, to anyone to live their life filled with the joy and satisfaction of reaching one's potential by aiming high rather than "settling".
      I've experienced oppression in my own way, and have done a lot to work out my feelings about things that have happened to me. I don't know why but it never occurred to me until I attended this celebration for Dr. King that his message was for me, too. He's always been there in my consciousness, I've just never spent much time studying his message.
      Well, as the saying goes: "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear." _edI feel sad that Dr. King isn't here today to keep on teaching, but so thankful that his words and actions remain so that I can learnfrom him now that I'm ready.

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by Lisa Dilk Schad

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wEbbtide Webmaster: Henry Lai

Got MLK?
.	A few months ago, I was baptized for what was either the first or second time in my life. My mom couldn't remember for sure if I had been baptized as a baby, although she said she couldn't imagine that I hadn't been. Needing a more precise answer, I decided to cover all my bases and get baptized on my own just to be sure. It was a full immersion baptism; I stood in a baptismal font in water up to my chest and was thoroughly and completely dunked by my pastor and my husband (who was also being baptized, since his folks couldn't recall if he'd been baptized either). When I came up out of the water, I felt a sense of peace and warmth such as I'd never quite experienced before. It was wonderful. The feeling I had during, and after, the MLK Jr., Day celebration was very similar to what I felt the day I was baptized. I was also enlightened in a big way regarding the legacy of Dr. King. I had always known he was a wonderful person, that he did great things which caused life to change for black people, but somewhere along the way I'd managed to miss the true meaning of all his work. I hadn't stopped to look at the man he was because I saw only his larger-than-life image. Also I hadn't realized that I, a white woman, could also benefit so much from Martin Luther King, Jr.'s words, concepts, ideas, and beliefs. At the risk of sounding ignorant (and I guess that's not such a terrible word, since we are all ignorant of things until we learn about them), I had spent my life thinking Martin Luther King, Jr. belonged only to black people. I thought of him as "the black man's JFK". Funny, though, I always knew that John Kennedy was mourned by blacks and whites alike, so why did it take so long for me to get it about Dr. King? As I listened to the speeches, testimonials, musical tributes, etc. throughout the day (my schedule that day allowed me to experience the celebration from beginning to end), I realized Dr. King's legacy was not just for black people who were oppressed. The message he left behind is one that can give hope and strength to anybody who's been bullied, domineered, tyrannized, and made to feel as though he or she is not worthy to participate in the human race, to anyone to live their life filled with the joy and satisfaction of reaching one's potential by aiming high rather than "settling". I've experienced oppression in my own way, and have done a lot to work out my feelings about things that have happened to me. I don't know why but it never occurred to me until I attended this celebration for Dr. King that his message was for me, too. He's always been there in my consciousness, I've just never spent much time studying his message. Well, as the saying goes: "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear." _edI feel sad that Dr. King isn't here today to keep on teaching, but so thankful that his words and actions remain so that I can learnfrom him now that I'm ready.	.
by Lisa Dilk Schad