Communities of faith across Moore County are joining hands, hearts and voices in an Interfaith Service of Thanksgiving on the Sunday before the Thanksgiving holiday, November 18 at 4 PM. This year’s host site is Temple Beth Shalom, 131 Jackson Springs Road, Jackson Springs (Foxfire area.) Everyone is welcome and participants are invited to linger for music and refreshments following the service to enjoy fellowship with their neighbors.
This is the thirteenth year of the annual Thanksgiving community gathering, which was first held in 2006 and jointly sponsored by Sandhills Jewish Congregation/Temple Beth Shalom, Jackson Springs Presbyterian Church, and McDonalds Chapel Presbyterian Church. Since then the gathering grown to also include these sponsoring congregations: Community of Mindful Living in the Pines, Congregational Church of Pinehurst – UCC, Seven Lakes Chapel in the Pines, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Sandhills, and Saint Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church. Representatives from each faith community design the service to invite neighbors into a worship setting in which various faith traditions express their shared gratitude for the blessings of this community, nation and world.
Using familiar hymns, sharing words and prayers from the faiths represented and Native Americans will offer worshippers an opportunity to share their faith traditions and give thanks together for our many blessings. There will be an interfaith choir with members from each of the congregations. Musicians from the community will also provide string and vocal music for the service. Rev. Elizabeth Forester, from Jackson Springs Presbyterian Church, will deliver the Thanksgiving message this year.
Worshippers are asked to bring non-perishable foods as a Thank Offering, to be donated this year to the Interfaith Food Pantry on Knight St. in Aberdeen. As we offer thanks for our many blessings may we will also remember that some are in need and we are thankful that we can share.
