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 24 at 4 PM. This year’s host site is Congregational Church of Pinehurst, 895 Linden Rd, Pinehurst. 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 fourteenth 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 has grown to also include these sponsoring congregations: Community of Mindful Living in the Pines, Congregational Church of Pinehurst, Seven Lakes Chapel in the Pines, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Sandhills, Saint Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church, and Masjid Al-Madina Muslim Congregation. 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, the service will offer worshipers 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. Judy Boroughs, from Jackson Springs Presbyterian Church, will deliver the Thanksgiving message this year.
Worshipers are asked to bring non-perishable foods as a Thank Offering, to be donated to the Food Pantry at the West End Methodist Church which provides food for local families. As we offer thanks for our many blessings may we also remember that some are in need and we are thankful that we can share.
