Services will be held Sunday in Mathews and Monday in Gloucester to remember and honor Martin Luther King Jr.

The Mathews Branch of the NAACP will observe the slain civil rights leader’s birthday at 3 p.m. Sunday at Antioch Baptist Church, Susan. The Gloucester Union Relief Association of Missionary Baptist will hold its annual service at 4 p.m. Monday at the First United Baptist Church, White Marsh.

The theme of the service in Mathews this year is "Let Freedom Sing." Event spokesperson Rosalind Knight said that there will not be a guest speaker, but music of the civil rights movement as it relates to King will be performed.

The guest speaker in Monday’s service in Gloucester will be Bishop Robert E. Duck III of Oak Grove Baptist Church, Franklin. Special music will be provided by the MGM Tri-County Choir under the direction of John Smith.

Duck attended Hampton Institute for one year before enlisting in the U.S. Army, according to program spokesperson Emily Sue Jones. After Duck’s tour of duty, he was hired by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company as an electrician.

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