Voices were raised and arms outstretched Thursday in preparation for the annual Martin Luther King Jr. celebration at Mission Ministry Outreach.

“I feel he set a good example to try to bring everyone together,” said Mimi Daviter, one of several dancers to perform at the event. “We are all considered one.”

The celebration, which will feature recitations, songs and dancing, will be held at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at the church’s worship hall located at 1751 Goldie Road, D1.

Ministry through dance holds a special meaning for Mission Ministry Outreach, which uses the movement to express emotion and inspire devotion.

“For me, I get a lot of joy out of doing it,” said dancer Laniece Holmes, who has also served the last nine years in the Navy. “When you say something in motion, it touches people differently than hearing it.”

Pastor Fannie Dean, who was honored in 2010 as Oak Harbor’s first black history pioneer, has organized the King event for more than 30 years, along with Juneteenth, a celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S.

The Mission Ministry Outreach was the first African American-built church in Oak Harbor, Dean said, a task that wasn’t always easy.

“The faith that Dr. King had still lives on,” Dean said. “We cannot quit doing what we can to make a difference in Oak Harbor. You gotta do when no one else wants to work.”

Jessica Vester, 13, who was also rehearsing Thursday, called King’s work “courageous.”

“Black people didn’t get their rights that were pretty much for everyone else,” Vester said.

Vester added that King’s message of peace is the reason so much progress has been made.

“Because we fought with peace, it’s where we are today.”

For more information, go to www.fanniedean.com