So, welcome to 2023 and all of its possibilities for connection, joy and learning. I hope everyone had a wonderful end of 2022 and is rested, refreshed, and ready for new adventures. The Owl is catching up with her email and notices of events, committee meetings, and “breaking” news from Weston. It was most kind of New England to make re-entry from the tropics a balmy 52 degrees yesterday–by next week, I shall be ready for some cross-country skiing in the woods, so let’s do snowy winter soon.

One of the upcoming events is the Metrowest Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Breakfast, to be held this year on Monday, January 16 at 9 am at the United Methodist Church in Weston. The MLK Memorial Breakfast celebration seeks to raise awareness of the essential role of education as a tool in the pursuit of social justice. As MLK, Jr. said: “the function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically.”

A livestream link of Keynote Speaker Jelani Cobb will start off the program, followed by a panel of live speakers. If you are not familiar with Jelani Cobb, he is a staff New Yorker writer who often writes about race, politics, history and culture. He is also the dean of the Columbia Journalism School. You can read his article on Martin Luther King Jr.’s History Lessons from January 17, 2022, here though you may have to be a New Yorker subscriber which really you should be.

The panel of local leaders will be moderated by Rev. Alicia Velez Stewart, pastor of the United Methodist Church. Panelists include:

Rabbi Jessica Lowenthal, Rabbi at Temple Beth Shalom, Melrose, MA

Saadia Husain Baloch, Member of the Islamic Center of Boston, Wayland, MA

Diliana De Jesus, Chief Development officer of Casa Esperanza, a bilingual/bicultural behavioral health facility that specializes in serving the Latino community in Massachusetts.

Join in-person for breakfast during the Live-streamed keynote followed by the live panel discussion with local social justice leaders Tickets are limited. Order online: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/490583688017 or call 781-893-9595.

The initial flyer is below, which will be updated to include Ms. Baloch.

The United Methodist Church is located at 377 North Avenue.