On the 60th anniversary of his murder, Judson remembers Bob Spike – one of its founding fathers (senior minister 1949-56), American civil rights hero and victim of a despicable homophobic police-led smear campaign. 

 As the first Executive Director of the National Council of Churches Commission on Religion and Race 1963-65, Dr. Robert Spike orchestrated the mobilization of more than 40,000 white Protestants for the March on Washington. He arranged lawyers for jailed SNCC voter registration workers in Mississippi and trained volunteers for Freedom Summer in 1964. He fiercely lobbied Congress for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He was with Dr Martin Luther King in Selma and helped write the speech President Johnson delivered urging Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 

 Joining the service will be Ambassador Andrew J. Young, himself a legendary civil rights leader and one of Spike's closest colleagues in the 1960s. Inspiring freedom songs and prophetic words will lift our spirits as we celebrate a man whose courage and vision helped make our freedom-loving Judson community a living reality.

 In addition to the Memorial Service, a documentary is being made about Dr. Spike’s life and work. More information is available at https://www.robertspike.com

Join us in person or online here.