16th Annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service
The sixteenth annual New Providence-Berkeley Heights Interfaith Thanksgiving Service occurred on Monday evening, November 21, 2022, at Faith Lutheran Church in New Providence.
The participating worship communities were the Congregation Ohr Shalom-Summit Jewish Community Center, Faith Lutheran Church, Church of the Little Flower (Roman Catholic), New Providence United Methodist Church, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, and Summit’s Temple Sinai.
The service began with a welcome by Rev. Jane McCready, pastor of Faith Lutheran, which was followed by a greeting from Mayor Al Morgan of New Providence.
The Thanksgiving homily was offered by Rabbi Avi Friedman of Congregation Ohr Shalom/Summit Jewish Community Center.
The liturgy of the service consisted of prayers and readings led by each of the interfaith clergy. The music featured an interfaith choir, led by Shea Velloso, Minister of Music at Faith Lutheran. Three hymns were sung by the congregation.
Regarding the offering, the canned goods were given to the StarFish Interfaith Food Pantry in Plainfield, which is supported by an ecumenical group of religious organizations. Financial gifts were given to the Community Hope for Veterans, a program that serves our veterans at Lyons Hospital and is supported by the Islamic Society of Basking Ridge.
An open letter from the New Providence-Berkeley Heights Interfaith Clergy to the Community was included in the program of the service and was distributed to all.
Some of the words 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.”
Courtesy photo
