|PIC1|Christians from across the denominational spectrum gathered at Westminster Abbey on Friday night to pay tribute to the life of Martin Luther King Jr, who was shot dead 40 years to the day.

"I can't think of King's dream without thinking of hope," said the head of the Evangelical Alliance, the Jamaican-born Rev Joel Edwards, in his address.

King's hope and his fight for justice and non-violent activism were rooted in his faith in Jesus Christ, Edwards stressed, adding that although he was a Nobel Peace Prize winner, he was first and foremost a Baptist preacher. "You cannot have King without King's God," said Edwards.

It was this faith that impassioned King to lead the civil rights movement, according to Edwards. "King's dream is a dream about hope. But this dream of hope is also premised on faith."

He went on to denounce secularism and its "vendetta against God in the public square" and argued that faith has a positive influence in society, referring to the speech by Tony Blair on Thursday night in which the former prime minister spoke of faith as a force for good.

"King would never have recognised the political naivety which pretends that faith has no responsibility in the public square. Neither would Desmond Tutu," he said.

"When faith flows into the life of our communities, it should never be obstructed simply because it is faith."

Edwards pointed to the progress that has been made in making King's dream of racial equality a reality, saying that at the time of his death on 4 April 1968, high-profile black politicians like Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice and Barack Obama were "unthinkable".

He challenged those gathered to continue the work began by King in building a world of peace, equality and justice.

"Keeping the dream alive is to recognise that hope is neither a theological illusion nor a political luxury," said Mr Edwards.

"Hope keeps the dream alive in spite of everything. Those struggling for justice today, keep the dream alive."

The "Keeping the dream alive" service of hope was held in partnership with the US Embassy, Churches Together in England and The Peace Alliance, and brought together a number of distinguished black church leaders including Rev Katei Kirby, head of the African Caribbean Evangelical Alliance, Pastor Agu Irukwu, Senior Pastor of Jesus House, and Bishop Joe Aldred, Secretary for Minority Ethnic Christian Affairs.

Hope is a major theme for Britain's churches this year. The Hope08 movement has united churches of all denominations in acts of kindness within their local communities in a bid to bring hope to the people living in their areas.