InterFaith Aurora will be host to its 11th annual “Thanksgiving Celebration of Music and Friendship” from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 18 at Wesley United Methodist Church, 14 N. May Street in Aurora. There will be songs and religious praise from diverse congregations throughout the Aurora area and this year’s theme is Celebrating Neighbors.
“This celebration is the consummation of our year-long activities where different religious denominations work to bring understanding, inclusion, awareness, and friendship of each other in order to work toward a more harmonious and just community,” said Tammy Helfrich, the organization’s coordinator.
There will be readings to include by members of the Baha’i, Jewish, and Sikh communities, music from the Praise Choir of the St. John African Methodist Episcopal Church, and the Youth and Adult Choir of Wesley Methodist Church. The celebration is open to the public.
Light refreshments will be served after the event, and offerings raised from the celebration will be donated to the Jesse Torres Boxing Club in Aurora, which is a nonprofit organization that empowers and improves the quality of life of youth and Parkinson patients through the physical fitness and boxing. Prior year recipients were 2017 CASA Kane County; 2016 Marie Wilkinson Food Pantry; and 2015 Family Counseling Service of Aurora.
Participants in this year’s event include the following: Aurora Jewish Renewal Congregation, Temple B’nai Israel, St. John African Methodist Episcopal Church, Wesley United Methodist Church, The Orchard Community, The Sikh Community, Baha’i Community, St. John UCC, Our Savior Lutheran Church, St. Joseph Catholic Church.
InterFaith Aurora, a non-profit organization, has been in existence for approximately 10 years. The mission of the organization is based on the common belief that we are all children of God.
— InterFaith Aurora