Do you have a favorite “special” service of the year? 

For some, it’s Maundy Thursday, with our soup-and-bread supper and candlight Tenebrae. Others love the Christmas Eve services, either the Pageant Service or the Lessons and Carols. Still others look forward to the Easter Sunrise, rising with the dawn to stand with other congregations from Southborough to celebrate the empty tomb. 

And some of us just love our new (old) Thanksgiving Service!

What a great night we had last night at the Neighbors for Peace Thanksgiving Interfaith Service

Last year, a few more than thirty folks joined us for our reclamation of this special night. This year, sixty-six souls attended! We heard scriptures, great music, and intergenerational sharing. 

We enjoyed Jewish prayers, readings from the Qu’ran, and heard a Sikh blessing and hymn. David Joyner brought a capella joy with “It is Well with My Soul” and “Amazing Grace,” and The Probst and Chellen families served up a lovely folk medley. Our own Peter and Monica Zschokke led us in “Let There Be Peace on Earth” with an assist from David. It was the perfect finish. 

Many Thanks for Many Contributions

Thanks to Dr. Safdar Medina and Rev. Phil Labelle for beginning Neighbors for Peace here in Southborough. They’ve led prayer vigils and stood as witnesses that when people from different traditions unite, great things can happen. We continued on in their tradition, and it was a blessing last night. 

Thanks to Cindy, Nancy, Lily and Emily for running the things on the kitchen side for our fellowship time afterward. Special thanks to Freddie for believing in this service and insuring that we put everything together. 

Thanks to everyone who contributed to the Southborough Food Pantry for our special offering. We collected hundreds of dollars to keep people fed at this very special time of year.

This service included members of:

• Congregation B’Nai Shalom
• Pilgrim Church
• Saint Mark’s Church
• St. Anne’s Parish
• St. Matthew’s Parish
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
• Gurdwara Sahib in Westborough (NESSC).

Thank you to all who participated, and thanks to so many Pilgrims for coming out to make this a special night. It was better with you there. Will attendance double again next year? Who knows. We’ll be there no mater what, because the world of unity is VERY rewarding.