GANDHI KING CENTER FOR NONVIOLENCE AND RECONCILATION TO HONOR 28 YEAR OLD MIAMI MINISTER

MOREHOUSE COLLEGE OF MINISTERS INDUCTS ALUMNI, KEVIN KITRELL ROSS OF MIAMI, FLORIDA INTO THE MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. INTERNATIONAL BOARD OF PREACHERS

(PRWEB) March 14, 2003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    

CONTACT: Rhonda Gutierrez ( 305) 861-0351

(786) 306-0975

At the Grande Finale of the Gandhi-King Season for Nonviolence, during Spiritual Awareness Week 2003, The Martin Luther King, Jr. International Chapel's Gandhi Institute for Reconciliation will induct local 28 year old Miami Minister, The Reverend Kevin Kitrell Ross, as one of it's youngest members, into the prestigious The Prestigious Martin Luther King, Jr. International Board of Preachers. The event will occur as part of the College's Eighteenth Annual College of Ministers and Laity Program.

Founder and Minister of The Lighthouse Center for Empowered Living, a new, dynamic, intercultural, interfaith, interracial, transdenominational, New Thought ministry, The Reverend Kevin Kitrell Ross considers this honor very important because in his words, "it underscores our commitment to bring people o f faith together across lines of race, class, and culture to speed up the day that Jesus the Christ prayed for, Mother Theresa served for, that Gandhi fasted for, that Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in prison for and that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. marched for!" Said Ross in a recent address to a capacity crowd, "Time is up for the perverters of peace! Our societal sickness is demanding a spiritual solution and the hour for the champions of Truth has arrived. Let us be found galvanizing a global consciousness to forward freedom's day."

The induction ceremony will take place at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 3, 2003 at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Chapel at Morehouse College. The theme for this year's Spiritual Awareness Week is "Universal Spirituality and Visionary Activism." The world-renown Morehouse College Glee Club will sing and Dr. Brad Ronell Braxton, professor of New Testament and Preaching at Wake Forest University Divinity school will deliver the message. Oil portraits to be unveiled will include former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, The Reverend Dr. Barbara King, The Reverend Dr. Michael Beckwith and X.L. Neil. Mansukh Patel will be the recipient of the Howard Thurman Ecumenical Stained Glass Award. A historic photograph will be taken of the inductees and an honorees luncheon will include guest speaker, Mr. Jack Duvall.

Some past honorees include The Reverend Michael B. Beckwith, Mr. Les Brown, The Reverend Dr. Johnnie Colemon, Mrs. Marian Wright Edelman, Arun Gandhi, Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, Mrs. Corretta Scott King, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, The Reverend Jessie Jackson, Sr., Honorable Nelson Mandela, The Reverend Mary Manin Morrissey, The Dr. Reverend Otis Moss, Jr. Dr. David Nobel, , and scores of nationally and internationally acclaimed clergy, civil rights leaders, and educators.

Following the example of his hero, The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rev. Ross is a 1999 graduate of Morehouse College, holding a Bachelor of Arts in Religion. As a student he graduated as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Student Scholar. Additionally, Ross served in the Ministerial Formation Chapel Assistant Pre-seminary Program, under the tutelage of the Dean of Chapel, The Rev. Dr. Lawrence Edward Carter, Sr. Rev. Ross was the first person to be ordained in the historic Martin Luther King, Jr. Chapel. He is also is author of the newly released, Heavenly Words for Hard Times: A Transformational Guide for Empowered Living, He recently made an appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show and is a member of the Parliament of the World's Religions and the American Academy of Religion. Ross was featured in Black Enterprise as a guest "Successspert" and in UPSCALE magazine as an "Upwardly Mobile" person to watch. Rev. Ross is a highly sought after keynote speaker and has held audiences with national and international leaders, including The Honorable Nelson Mandela and His Holiness, The Dalai Lama. Rev. Ross is the recipient of numerous awards, including The Howard Swearer Humanitarian Award, The Heritage Crest Visionary of Unity Award, presented at the Smithsonian Institute, WGN TV's Extra Effort Award, The Benjamin Elijah Mays Community Service Award, and Ross is also listed in Marquis Who Who in the World. His new congregation holds "Sunday Night Live" services weekly a 7:00 p.m. at the Sheraton Suites Hotel in Plantation, Florida. The Lighthouse Center for Empowered Living is open to all people, at all times, all for one God. Ross resides in Miami, Florida.