In a county, Orleans, NY, in which religious congregations were divided in support or against the abolition of slavery before the United States Civil War, the first, now Annual, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Commemorative Celebration and Lecture was held on January 13, 2023. This year this Celebration will be followed by a Film Series, "Eyes on the Prize", sharing the roots and processes of the Civil Rights Movement, and preparing the way for ecumenical and interfaith conversations on "Compassion in Community: a Response to Hatred", part of the national and international healing responses to the current crisis in Israel/Palestine.