Thursday, November 24, 2005

Thanksgiving Interfaith Service

The Spokane Interfaith Council hosted an annual Thanksgiving Day Service at Saint Mark's Lutheran Church. They originally planned to hold services at Temple Beth Shalom (a Jewish Synagogue), but vandals recently destroyed five security cameras on site and created an unacceptable risk to worshippers. The venue changed at the last moment.

The service was beautiful. We heard speeches from Pastor Alexander Kaprian of Pilgrim Slavic Baptist Church, Reverend Clare Austen of Unity Church of Truth, Bishop Martin Wells of Evangelical Lutheran Church, Ameena Aamer from the Spokane Islamic Center, and Steve Rorie of Soka Gakkai International (Buddhist). We also heard music from many faith traditions, including Christian music from Pilgrim Slavic Baptist Church, Jewish music from Temple Beth Shalom, and Hindu music sung by Aruna and Chandan Bhuta. Everyone who spoke or presented musical selections touched upon the theme of peace between all the world's peoples and religions.

The most moving music I heard today was a song called "Peace Will Come:"

Od yavo shalom Aleinu, od yavo shalom Aleinu,
Od yavo shalom aleinu, v'al kulam.
Salaam, aleinu v'al kol haolam,
Salaam, salaam.

Peace will come to us, peace will yet come to us,
Peace will come to us, and everyone.
Salaam, peace for us and for all the world,
Peace, peace.

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