The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 2022 Commemoration Service will be observed Monday, Jan. 17, at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church.

The service will begin at 11 a.m., and will be available live for home viewing on the church’s Facebook page. CDC guidelines and a mask mandate will be enforced for those who chose to attend the service in person.

Dr. Zannie Leland, Jr., chairperson of the MLK Commemoration Committee, said the decision was made to commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. King by condensing this year’s festivities that usually fill the MLK weekend into a single service Monday.

In normal years, the Commemoration Committee sponsors a basketball jamboree, a beauty revue, musical performances, and a breakfast and prayer vigil the morning of MLK Day followed by a march through the Batesville Square. Those activities will return next year, Dr. Leland said.

This year’s theme is “The Urgency of Recreating a Beloved Village” and the celebration is sponsored by the Sardis District Pastors and Ministers Division in association with South Panola Hi-Y and Tri-Hi-Y Clubs.