The public is invited to a special chapel service at Wake Forest University honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on Thursday, Jan. 15.
The 11 a.m. service in Wait Chapel will feature the Rev. John Thomas Porter, a pastor and long-time associate of the late civil-rights activist. The Wake Forest Gospel Choir will provide music for the service.
Porter began his ministry career in 1958 at a Baptist church in Detroit. In 1962, he became the pastor of Sixth Avenue Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., during an installation ceremony that included a sermon by Rev. King.
Porter, who still serves as Sixth Avenue’s pastor, is known throughout his state for his work within the clergy and civil rights. He is a former member of the Alabama House of Representatives and the Alabama Board of Pardons and Parole. He currently serves on numerous boards of directors, including the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Leadership Birmingham and the Birmingham Ministerial Association.
Porter has a bachelor’s degree from Alabama State University and a master’s of divinity from Morehouse College’s School of Religion. In addition, he was a Merrill Fellow at Harvard University and holds honorary degrees from Daniel Payne College and Miles College.
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