Join 'Thanksgiving: Seeking the Harmony Between You and Me'
The 10th annual Community Interfaith Thanksgiving gathering will take place at 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20, at the Unity Spiritual Center, 225 W. Calhoun St., Woodstock. It is sponsored by FaithBridge, a consortium of local faith communities.
This year's theme speaks to appreciating the harmony between diverse groups in the community. As musician David LaMotte stated, "Unity is when we all sing the same note. Harmony is when we sing different notes, and they are beautiful together."
The evening program will feature music, reflections, and meditations on harmony from the many faith traditions represented in McHenry County, painter Shawna Bowman making visual art during the program, music from Tricia Alexander and the Woodstock Community Choir, and a drum meditation.
An offering will benefit local food pantries. A time of food and conversation will follow.
FaithBridge was started in 2007 to encourage interfaith communication, understanding, cooperation, spiritual practice and action. It grew out of a Columbus Day gathering which included people of various ethnic and religious backgrounds.
FaithBridge also sponsors Face-to-Face; Faith-to-Faith, an interfaith certification course for lay people, and the annual Interfaith Prayer Breakfast honoring Martin Luther King Jr.
The breakfast will be held on Monday, Jan. 16, at D'Andrea's Banquets in Crystal Lake. Phyllis Unterschuetz, co-founder and president of the Race Story Rewrite Project, will give the keynote address on the theme "Honestly Confronting Racism."
Tickets will be available at the Thanksgiving program.
FaithBridge's member organizations include the McHenry County Jewish Congregation, the Blue Lotus Buddhist Temple of Woodstock, the Center for Spiritual Evolution in Cary, the American Muslim Community Organization, the Palatine Presbyterian Church, the Bethany Lutheran Church, the First Congregational Church of Crystal Lake, and the Department of Mission and Spiritual Care of Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Barrington.
Visit www.faithbridgeinterfaith.org or www.facebook.com/FaithbridgeIllinois/.