Celebrating the Thanksgiving season, Christians, Jews, Muslims, and other faith groups gathered at an annual interfaith worship service Sunday, Nov. 23.
Our Savior Lutheran Church hosted the afternoon “Thanksgiving Celebration of Music and Friendship.” InterFaith Aurora, an ecumenical group, sponsored the event that featured messages and songs from diverse area groups on the theme “Imagining Plenty, Imagining Peace.”
“The event highlights how different faith communities work to bring understanding, inclusion, awareness, and friendship of each other in order to work toward a more harmonious and just community,” a spokesperson said earlier.
Participating congregations in this year’s event included: Our Savior Lutheran, Aurora; New England Congregational, Aurora; Wesley United Methodist, Aurora; Temple B’nai Israel, Aurora; St. John African Methodist Episcopal Church, Aurora; Trinity United Methodist, Yorkville; Islamic Center of Aurora; Baha’is of Aurora and Aurora Human Relations Commission.
Messages were from members of the Jewish, Muslim, Baha’i and Aurora Human relations Commission. A group Thanksgiving litany was led by Rev. Dr. Brandon Perrine of New England Congregational.
Music included “I Need You to Survive” sung with spoken word and American Sign Language by eight members of signing and praise choirs of Aurora’s St. John African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Offerings raised from the celebration were to be donated to Aurora Area Interfaith Food Pantry in Aurora. Prior year recipients were: Mutual Ground in 2024;The Community Fridge in 2022; Simply Destinee in 2021; Aurora Interfaith Food Pantry in 2020; The Neighbor Project in 2019; Jesse Torres Boxing Club in 2018; CASA Kane County in 2017; Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry in 2016; and Family Counseling Service of Aurora in 2015.
Our Savior pastor Rev. Eric Miller opened the celebration with a welcome to attendees and gave the invitation to the offering. A reception concluded the event.
—Al Benson