Holly Springs MLK Jr. Committee Names Sacred Space

David Prince, Vice-Chair of the Holly Springs MLK Jr. Committee, and Roy Tempke, Vice President, Clinical Operations and Chief Operating Officer of Rex Holly Springs Hospital, converse near the welcoming entrance of the new Sacred Space.

The affinity that Furman Beckwith, Deborah Lockley Beckwith and David Prince have for Holly Springs runs deep. They were born and raised there and, after moving away to enjoy successful careers, returned to the area several years ago. The Beckwiths and Prince believe strongly in Luke 12:48, “To whom much is given much is required.” Furman Beckwith is president of the Holly Springs Martin Luther King Jr. Committee, Inc., his wife is chairwoman of the program committee, and Prince is vice president. “We’re a diverse committee that meets monthly,” Prince said. “We’ve planned several projects and have multiple programs running right now.” Furman Beckwith added, “Our purpose is to ease the economic strife in Holly Springs, to benefit the Black community and everyone else and to honor the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by teaching peace and improving voting rights for Holly Springs citizens.”

TThe Holly Springs MLK Committee hosts several annual events, including a Unity Weekend in January complete with a breakfast, an MLK walk, a keynote speaker and several other activities. The Committee provides scholarships to graduating seniors at Holly Springs High School, hosts an annual Day at the Park in Womble Park, and for six years has sponsored an annual golf tournament at Devil’s Ridge Country Club in Holly Springs. This year, the Holly Springs MLK Committee is embarking on arguably its biggest project to date: naming the sacred space at Rex Holly Springs Hospital. “When we grew up in Holly Springs in the 60s, there was no doctor, no drugstore, no grocery stores or anything like that in the Black community,” Furman Beckwith said. “Our Committee was approached about having the sacred space within the hospital named for the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee, and … we wanted to do whatever we could to support the hospital.

“Because the town is losing so much of its Black population and identity, we wanted to do something to commemorate the Committee as well as have something that people could look at for years and years to come and say ‘the Holly Springs MLK Committee supported the hospital,’” Beckwith continued. “Dr. King was very religious, so we thought it’d be a great opportunity to have his name associated with a sacred space.”

Prince and the Beckwiths are happy to lead the charge to support the Rex Holly Springs Hospital.

“We’re just doing what we can for our community and giving back,” Prince said. “We’re very grateful to be a part of the MLK Committee and to make it a viable force in the town.”

Furman Beckwith was a flight engineer in the United States Air Force before retiring and landing a job as a civil engineer with the N.C. Department of Transportation.

Deborah Beckwith retired from the Wake County School System as a teacher’s assistant in special education.

Prince enjoyed a career in state government before embarking upon a second career in the funeral home business. His family has owned land in Holly Springs since 1888.

All three are glad the Committee voted to name the sacred space at the new hospital, centrally located on the facility’s first floor, next to the welcoming desk .

“I think the biggest thing is … there will be a plaque with our Committee’s name on it,” Deborah Beckwith said. “I know there’s a big emphasis on the sacred space being nondenominational. Besides making a contribution to the new hospital, we hope what we’re doing will inspire others to join us.”

- Gyasi Ayinde Patterson, Director of Pastoral Care Services at UNC Rex

MLK Jr. Committee members Deborah and Furman Beckwith pose inside the new Sacred Space.

The Holly Springs MLK Committee has about 50 members.

Gyasi Ayinde Patterson, director of pastoral care services at UNC Rex Healthcare, expressed that he’s grateful the Committee chose to engage with the hospital in this way. “My initial reaction after learning about their donation was gratitude and humility,” Patterson said. “I was very thankful for their donation and very thankful and honored that they considered us.

“I’m delighted Rex sees the importance in inclusion, in reaching out to historically underrepresented communities,” he continued. “As we pursue diversity, equity and inclusion, finding ways to partner with these communities and allowing them to have a voice is a human issue, so I’m delighted we’re providing a space for this.”

Prince is proud of the MLK Jr. Committee’s partnership with UNC Rex and hopeful about its potential impact.

“In the years to come, we’ll go to the sacred space and see what we did,” he said. “We may even get the opportunity to sit in the sacred space and pray for our loved ones who may be patients at the hospital. I’m looking forward to utilizing it.”

Patterson said anybody can use the sacred space.

“We’re ecumenical, egalitarian and support many stripes of humanity and belief systems which speaks to holistic care — mind, body and soul,” he said. “It’s a very calming space, and my hope is that visitors use it when they first come in, while they’re at the hospital and before they leave. I also hope staff will use it because it’s for everybody.”