The relevance and importance of the federal Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday will be explored during Kansas Wesleyan University’s MLK Day celebration Monday.

Salinan Debora Cox, a former member of the KWU Board of Trustees and a lay speaker in the United Methodist Church, will give the message “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Then, Now, and Next” during the celebration, which is scheduled to begin at 12:10 p.m. Monday in University United Methodist Church, Santa Fe and Claflin. The celebration is open to the public at no charge.

“I’ll talk about the federal holiday marking its 25th year, the relevance of the Holiday and whether it’s important to celebrate and why,” Cox explained.

Dr. John Blackwell, KWU Vice President for Student Development, said that in addition to the message by Cox, the KWU Philharmonic Choir will sing “He Never Failed Me Yet.” Bill McMosley, KWU Associate Professor of Music, and Gayle McMillan, an adjunct faculty member in the KWU Department of Education, will perform some Gospel Jazz music, as well.

“This will be a heartwarming celebration,” Blackwell said.