More than 70 people gathered at Christus Victor Lutheran Church on Monday night, Nov. 24, as the Interfaith Alliance brought different faith traditions together for its annual Thanksgiving service.
The service brought together Jewish, Unitarian Universalist, Buddhist, Bahá’í, Sikh, Christian, Muslim and Hindu representatives, each offering messages of unity. Rabbi Ariel Boxman, director of lifelong learning at Temple Shalom, opened the evening with a reflection on compassion.
“I recognize the divine spark that you carry tonight,” Boxman said. “As we gather from different faiths and different stories, we affirm a shared truth that all people are beloved by God… May this teaching inspire us to look at each other with kindness, to lift one another up and to recognize the sacred worth in every human being.”
Speakers from each faith stepped to the podium to share their perspectives on the meaning of Thanksgiving. Sikh representative Rupa Kang connected the spirit of Thanksgiving to her own journey of immigrating to the United States.
“Just like the first pilgrims, my husband and I emigrated to the U.S. looking for religious and economic freedom,” Kang said. She recalled preparing her first Thanksgiving turkey for a group of fellow newcomers - despite never having seen one before and discovering the “turkey hotline” in the process. She closed with a traditional Sikh blessing wishing happiness to all.
Music played a central role throughout the service, with a choir accompanied by piano and a guitar performance from William Metts of the Bahá’í community. Hindu representative Dr. Shobhana Desai closed the program by reflecting on her early experiences with the holiday.
“Well, Thanksgiving is a very special holiday, and I have always loved and embraced it from the day or year that I came in,” Desai said. “I’m so glad we are continuing this tradition into loving others.”
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