Several community events are planned to celebration Martin Luther King Day in Bluffton.

Daniel Hughes of Bluffton is the featured speaker of the Bluffton Inter Church Board's Martin Luther King Day celebration. The event is Thursday, Jan. 21, at the Bluffton Senior Citizens Center.A community meal is at 6 p.m. The King program follows the meal. Both are open to the public.

Hughes will give a tribute to King with a speech Crossing Over Into the Promised Land.

Donations will be accepted with proceeds going to the Bluffton Food Pantry. Hughes has served as pastor of the Future Church in Lima for over 10 years. He is also a former instructor of communications at Bluffton University.

He and his wife, Nickie, live in Bluffton with their four children Keshaun, Mariah, Danyelle and Jeremiah.

Benefit lunch

A Martin Luther King Day benefit lunch, with all proceeds going to the Fight Back Center, New Orleans, La., is planned from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 18, at the First Mennonite Church, Bluffton.

Tickets at the door are $10 for adults, $5 for youth under 12 and free for pre-school youth, according to Wendy Chappell-Dick.

The event features a free children's program from 11 a.m. to noon for grades kindergarten to fifth called "Levees, Prayers and Hammers."

From noon to 1 p.m. will be live jazz music. During that time, information about Survivors Village and the Fight Back Center will be shared.

The menu includes muffaletta sandwiches with homemade bread, New Orleans-style read beans and rice, salad and sweet potato pie. All meal items will be made from scratch by Jonah Agner, according to Chappell-Dick.

Recently Andy and Wendy Chappell-Dick and Jonah Agner participated in a service trip to New Orleans. They worked on re-building a community center there.

"On Martin Luther King Day 2010 that place, The Fight Back Center is celebrating their grand opening. In solidarity with them, we invite all to attend our benefit lunch, raising money to send to continue their cause for housing the poor in NOLA," said Chappell-Dick.

Bluffton University

Bluffton University students will participate in the nationwide Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, Monday, Jan. 18. The day was initiated by Congress in 1994 as a way to honor the legacy of Dr. King by having a day for community service and education of his message of social justice and nonviolence.

Activities include:

City Mission of Findlay
1:30-3:30 p.m.
Limited to 15 students
Cleaning, painting, sorting donations

City Mission of Findlay
4-6:30 p.m.
Limited to 15 students
Serving dinner to the residents

Ropp Residence Hall and Ramseyer Residence Hall, Bluffton University
7:30-9 p.m.
Sort donated clothing from various campus locations
*Community members may drop off clothing donations at any residence hall lobby.