Saturday September 7, 10am-noon with tours to follow
At the Justice Center, 330 Eleanor Street, Kalamazoo
Rev. Rachel Lonberg, our minister, is one of two clergy who will offer blessings at the new Kalamazoo County courthouse. People’s people (and all residents of Kalamazoo County) are welcome to attend this ceremony, which will feature many local leaders, and tour the new building. You can read Rev. Rachel’s words below.

A Benediction for the Dedication of the Judge Charles A. Pratt Justice Center, our new county courthouse.
Charles A. Pratt was the first Black lawyer and first Black judge in Kalamazoo County, a trailblazer who served our community in so many ways.
Sources of reason and radiance,
Sources of courage and compassion,
As we dedicate this building,
We lament that the workings of our justice system
have so often been marred by racism
and other forms of oppression.
We know this new building is a chance for a new start.
We commit to being worthy of this building’s namesake,
Judge Charles A. Pratt,
by making this justice center
a home of our American ideal
of equal justice under law.
May all who work here –
janitors, juries, and judges,
lawyers, clerks, administrators, everyone
be guided by wisdom as they search for truth.
On this day and every day,
may we know in our bones and show in our actions
that no one is defined by their worst actions or their worst days.
May all who enter this building know they are precious.
May all who enter this building receive care and respect.
May the human efforts inside this building
create healing, reparation, redemption, and restoration.
As we close this ceremony of dedication,
for the Judge Charles A. Pratt Justice Center,
we know that for our county to truly have liberty and justice for all,
justice cannot only be here.
Justice must happen everywhere.
May we pursue justice and equity throughout our county.
May our schools become centers of justice.
May our workplaces and gathering places,
Every single home and dwelling place,
become centers of justice,
centers of equity,
Centers of love –
because the wise ones tell us that justice is what love looks like in public.
May every heart in this county yearn for justice and equity
and may every voice and every hand work to make it so.
May we go out from this gathering
as worthy heirs to the legacy of Judge Charles A. Pratt,
living out his high ideals.
May we be inspired by his actions and
the words shared today
and our own sources of truth and transcendence,
to create a more just,
more equal,
more loving Kalamazoo County
and a more just,
more equal,
more loving world.
Let us go in peace and go in love.
Amen.