A Gathering Of The Faithful: Interfaith Service Opened Thanksgiving Week

By Shannon Hicks

More than 100 people attended an interfaith Thanksgiving service on Sunday evening, gathering in the sanctuary of Trinity Episcopal Church on Main Street. It had been a number of years, Reverend Matt Crebbin said in his Words of Welcome, since anyone could remember the last time Newtown’s clergy joined together for such an event.

“Welcome to this time of worship, this Thanksgiving celebration,” the senior pastor of Newtown Congregational Church said. “We hope you indeed this will be a place of thanksgiving for you.”

It truly was an ecumenical event, with representatives of Newtown’s Catholic, Christian, Episcopalian, Jewish, Methodist, and the Baha’i faith communities all sharing space and time during the 75-minute service. A 36-member choir, The Newtown Interfaith Thanksgiving Choir, directed by Trinity Music Minister Fiona Smith Sutherland and with Newtown Congregational Church Organist Phil Crevier, filled the already beautiful space a number of times with uplifting songs, beginning with “Zion’s Walls” as the evening’s Introit.

Rabbi Shaul Praver of Congregation Adath Israel led the Call To Worship, a prayer of unity that was sung — after gentle coaching by the rabbi — in Hebrew by attendees.

The evening’s scripture lesson was Deuteronomy 8, which includes in part the lesson “When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you.” Rabbi Praver and The Reverend Jane Sibley, associate pastor at Newtown United Methodist Church, alternated reading the scripture in Hebrew and English.

Sunday’s special gathering, held four evenings before the nation will gather around dinner tables large and small for an annual feast that dates back to the Colonial era, was filled with music and prayers. Monsignor Robert Weiss, pastor of St Rose Church, did a reading from the New Testament (Matthew 6:25–34). While offering a reminder to give thanks for what is received with each new day, the reading also elicited a few nods with its closing words, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

The Reverend Kathleen Adams-Shepherd, rector of Trinity Church, offered the evening’s message. She reminded those in her sanctuary that Thanksgiving is not only a time to give thanks, but also a time to ask for forgiveness.

“Tonight and in particular this week,” she said as part of her homily, “we give thanks to God.

“There is an uneasy recognition of feasting so much, and yet we end up wasting so much food,” Reverend Adams-Shepherd said, “when so many other go without. Our Pilgrim parents were happy just to have enough to survive the winter.”

She offered reminders of people and occasions to be thankful for (college students who ask potential employers about their policy of equality before they ask about raises and benefits; the freedom for all Americans to approach a ballot box and perform other civic duties without fear of punishment), and of signs of hope in areas of conflict.

“In the spirit of hopefulness, soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, among other locations, will eat their turkey dinner out of their mess kits later this week,” she said.

A Prayer of Intercession was led by lay members of various churches seated within the pews. A member of Congregation Adath Israel read the opening lines from the prayer, with the response then read by everyone in the sanctuary. The 23-part prayer continued with members of Newtown Congregational, New Hope Community, Newtown United Methodist, St Rose, Newtown Christian, and Trinity Episcopal churches alternating the lead readings.

The Reverend Leo McIlrath, who serves as the ecumenical chaplain for The Lutheran Home of Southbury, shared Thanksgiving Reflections Sunday evening. He held up a pair of pictures colored by his grandchildren, classic coloring book illustrations showing Pilgrims and Native Americans during the fabled first Thanksgiving.

“These images,” he said, “are somewhat ideal, but not so real. They are what we like to remember from our childhood, but we know now that while Pilgrims and what we used to call Indians were at the same table, the latter group was in for a rude awakening.

“People of faith have sometimes missed the mark,” he continued. “The Jewish community calls that sin, and so do we. Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks, but also a time to ask for forgiveness.

“In spite of years of oppression, we are still graced,” Rev McIlrath said, “with the wisdom and knowledge of Native Americans.”

Dr John Woodall, leader of Baha’i Community of Newtown, selected a prayer revealed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, “O Thou kind Lord! Thou hast created all,” as the evening’s prayer for unity.

In addition to the full choir, Soprano Kate Buesing sang “A Simple Song” from Bernstein’s Mass, accompanied by Ms Sutherland Smith on piano and Sheila Doherty on the French horn. The choir also sang Copland’s “Simple Gifts,” and led the hymn “God Has Spoken To His People” and the closing hymn, “O Beautiful For Spacious Skies.”

Attendees were invited to make a pair of offerings on Sunday. The first came during the opening hymn (“Come Ye Thankful People, Come”) when, following the processional with clergy and choir, attendees were invited to place nonperishable food items in baskets on the altar that will be delivered to FAITH Food Pantry. Five large wicker laundry baskets were overflowing once the donations were received.

Later during the Offertory, while the choir sand “Now Thank We All Our God,” ushers Earl Gordon and Dennis O’Connor received an offering that will be given to The Newtown Fund.

Following a Benediction by Pastor Jack Tanner, minister and elder of Newtown Christian Church, who chose 1 Kings 8:57–58 as the service’s closing prayer, the evening concluded with a reception in Trinity’s undercroft.