Interfaith Thanksgiving Service
Submitted by Larry Holt
The fourteenth annual New Providence-Berkeley Heights Interfaith Thanksgiving Service occurred on Monday evening, November 25th, at the Church of the Little Flower in Berkeley Heights.
The participating worship communities were the Congregation Ohr Shalom-Summit Jewish Community Center, Faith Lutheran Church, Islamic Society of Basking Ridge, Church of the Little Flower (Roman Catholic), New Providence United Methodist Church, Our Lady of Peace Roman Catholic Church, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Union Village United Methodist Church, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Baha’is of New Providence, Berkeley Heights Asian Indian Christian Church, Bridgewater Gurudwara Garden State Sikh Association, and Temple Sinai.
The service began with a welcome by Father Andy Prachar of the Church of the Little Flower, which was followed by greetings from Mayor Al Morgan of New Providence and Mayor Angie Devanney of Berkeley Heights.
The Thanksgiving homily was offered by Father Andy. He emphasized the need for us to fight the tendency to be only about ourselves. Father Andy also said that we should be more appreciative of the great love of our God and the many blessings he has given us. The result will be our responding more fully to people in need.
The liturgy of the service consisted of prayers and readings led by each of the interfaith clergy. Three hymns were sung heartily by the members of the congregation, even while wearing their masks.
To respect health and safety concerns, everyone shared the peace without making physical contact. The clergy, mayors, and members of the various churches moved out of their pews and crossed aisles to greet fellow worshippers and wish them the peace of God.
The offering was given to Star Fish Food Pantry in Plainfield and Community Hope for Veterans.
An open letter from the New Providence-Berkeley Heights Interfaith Clergy to the community was included in the program of the service and distributed to all.
Some of the words of the letter follow:
“Let there be more love, deeper understanding, and greater gratitude for the blessing of diversity in our community.
We believe that the ethic of love and compassion is the heart of our Jewish-Christian-Islamic-Sikh-Bha’i heritages.
We believe that each human being, as a child of God, is entitled to be treated with respect, dignity, and understanding.
We pledge to realize this vision among ourselves and to help our community become more welcoming to all.”
