Sixth Annual Interfaith Community Thanksgiving Service and Feast Sunday, Nov. 20

Interfaith Council members planning last year’s event
Monday, November 14, 2011
by Rachel Rosin

From the opening musical strands of “Let There Be Peace on Earth” to the last crunch of apple crisp or pumpkin pie, the Chappaqua Interfaith Council’s Annual Thanksgiving Service and Dinner is a much-anticipated community event.  It will be held this year on Sunday, November 20, at 4:00 p.m. at Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester, after a short dedication ceremony at 3:30 p.m. for the temple’s new campus.  A free Thanksgiving feast will be served immediately following the service when everyone can mingle and get to know other faith groups in the community. Everyone is welcome.

Prayers, readings, music and song will be performed by members of all the participating faith communities.  This is the sixth year that the Chappaqua Interfaith Council has offered a meal following the service.  Last year over 400 guests attended both the service and the dinner.  This event is an opportunity for the residents of New Castle to join their neighbors in thanks and to share with Temple Beth El in the joy of dedicating its new addition.

The Kittle House will again provide the turkey for the community meal and the Chappaqua Village Market and many other organizations will provide additional food.

The Chappaqua Interfaith Council will honor two organizations that offer vital services to those in need in our area.  This year the council will be accepting donations of tax-deductible funds on behalf of Hope’s Door, the local women’s shelter, and The Food Bank for Westchester.

• Hope’s Door, formerly The Northern Westchester Shelter, needs to replace the old splintering wood floor in two bedrooms in its emergency shelter (estimated cost: $3,500), which houses 22 women and children. The non-profit was founded in 1980 to provide a safe haven and caring services to survivors of domestic violence.  The programs are free, confidential and offered in English and Spanish.  For more information, please see: www.northernwestchestershelter.org.

• The Food Bank for Westchester, a non-profit formed in 1988 as Food Patch, has a mission to lead, engage and educate Westchester County in creating a hunger-free environment.  It is the backbone of the county’s emergency food distribution network.  It distributes food to 227 frontline hunger-relief programs throughout the county that include food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters and residential programs.  For details, please contact: www.foodbankforwestchester.org.

Everyone in the community is welcome to join us for this free event.  For more information, contact Rachel Rosin, (914) 941-2126 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

The Chappaqua Interfaith Council includes representatives, both lay and clergy, from the following eight faith communities: Baha’is of New Castle; Chappaqua Friends Meeting; The Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Episcopal; First Congregational Church; Lutheran Church of our Redeemer; St. John and St. Mary’s Catholic Church; Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester and the Upper Westchester Muslim Society.

Temple Beth El is located at 220 South Bedford Road, Chappaqua.

Last year’s feast…

Temple Beth El hosts the dinner this year at its newly-completed campus.