Subzero temps shorten MLK Day fundraising walk

It was too cold to have a Walk for Warmth.

Or at least, to have a Walk for Warmth which went for the usual two miles.

Instead, the 200 participants in Interfaith Action of Evanston’s annual MLK Day walk-a-thon fund-raiser first met inside the First United Methodist Church.

Then the bundled-up crowd braved the cold and walked around the block – down Hinman, to Davis, to Chicago, and then back on Church Street to First Methodist.

This was the fifth yearly Walk for Warmth. Money raised through pledges helps nine Evanston houses of worship provide overnight shelter for homeless individuals.

Normally, the walk goes two miles through town, past eight of the nine congregations that have the shelters.

The walk is held on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which this year is not just the third Monday in January, but also is the slain civil rights leader’s actual birthday.

Melissa Appelt, Interfaith Action’s chair, said the frigid weather served as a reminder that “the [homeless] people we serve have no option, so we get a taste of what it’s like to be out in the cold.”

IAE is made up of 40 congregations of various faiths.

One of those congregations, Sherman United Methodist, celebrated its centennial last year. (The church is named after Lula B. Sherman, the African-American woman who was its founder).

Sherman congregation member Mildred Carter reinforced the idea that freezing temperatures may have actually helped increase participation.

“It’s questionable we’d get the same turnout” if the Walk was held in the summer, Carter said.

“People connect to the need for housing, and today is Martin Luther King Day of Service.”

There is also huge symbolism to the starting point for the Way, First United Methodist.

In May 1963, Dr. King preached there.

The Rev. Grace Imathiu, senior pastor at First United, said 3,000 people packed the church for two services, to hear Dr. King “talk of the brotherhood of humanity.”

King also spoke at one other Evanston congregation, Beth Emet, the Free Synagogue. Beth Emet had a team of walkers in the fund-raiser.

“Knowing that Dr. King spoke at Beth Emet is really moving,” said congregation member Leslie Shulruff.

While it was possible to stay inside First Methodist and “walk in spirit,” it appeared that just about everybody who was inside made it outside for the round-the-block walk.

As the Rev. Imathiu said, “Here and now we are one in all ways.”

It is still possible to contribute online without having taken part in the walk.