Faith In Brooklyn for Nov. 25
Interfaith Thanksgiving Service Emphasizes The Joys of Gratitude and Hospitality
Placing trust in God, gratitude, offering hospitality and sitting at table together were the themes of the Brooklyn Heights Clergy Association’s first annual Thanksgiving Interfaith Service on Sunday, Nov. 22. Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Cathedral hosted the evening service.
The Maronites are an Eastern Rite branch of the Catholic Church, with an ethnic heritage that is historically Lebanese and Syrian. However, a growing number of Catholics from other ethnic backgrounds are also finding great beauty in the Maronite Church and its liturgies.
Clergy and members of several neighborhood houses of worship participated, including the host cathedral, Plymouth Church, the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue, First Presbyterian Church and the Brooklyn Oratory. This year’s co-presidents were Rabbi Seth Wax of Congregation Mount Sinai and the Rev. Dr. Jane Huber, interim associate pastor of Plymouth Church. The Plymouth Church Chorale, under the direction of music director Bruce Oelschlager, sang works by René Clausen and a Celtic Blessing by John Rutter. Rev. Joel Warden of the Brooklyn Oratory at St. Boniface Church, who is also an accomplished musician and choral director, was the organist on Sunday.