Sixth annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service to be held at Cathedral

By Sean Gallagher

SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral Parish in Indianapolis will host at 7 p.m. on Nov. 22 the sixth annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service.

Prelude music offered by the Indianapolis Children’s Choir will start at 6:30 p.m.

Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein will preside over the service during which representatives of other Christian denominations as well as other world religions from the Indianapolis area will participate. The event is co-sponsored by the Christian Theological Seminary.

Rabbi Lewis Weiss, a chaplain at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, will offer a reflection during the service.

Rabbi Weiss said that in this year which has witnessed many natural disasters both in the United States and around the world, “more than ever we need to express thanks and gratitude for the blessings that we do have and two, come together in unity as people of faith to work together for a more bountiful harvest for all people.”

One aspect of this work will happen during the service when a collection of monetary donations and canned goods benefiting the American Red Cross and the Julian Center, an Indianapolis-based agency that aids battered women and children, will be taken up.

According to Father Patrick Beidelman, pastor of SS. Peter and Paul Cathedral Parish, hosting such an event is an

expression of the Catholic faith.

“It’s implicit in our call to discipleship of Jesus to reach out to people of goodwill,” he said, “and unite in a prayer of thanksgiving to God for our many blessings and to serve the poor.”

Father Beidelman also noted that this year’s Interfaith Thanksgiving Service falls close to the 40th anniversary of the proclamation of Nostra Aetate, the Second Vatican Council’s declaration on the relationship of the Church to non-Christian religions and in the year of the death of Pope John Paul II, who fostered a closer relationship between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people.

“I think this Interfaith Thanksgiving Service is a wonderful snapshot in the local Church of how documents like

Nostra Aetate and the vision of Pope John Paul II can be lived out in the real world,” he said.

Rabbi Weiss spoke of his appreciation of the strides made in the relationship between Catholics and Jews, and said that the Interfaith Thanksgiving Service, happening so close to the civic holiday of Thanksgiving, is reflective of this growth.

“For me, it’s been very exciting what the Catholic Church has been willing to do in … moving forward in terms of recognizing what we share in common,” said Rabbi Weiss. “Jesus was Jewish and taught in a synagogue. So we share that and I think we’re all God’s children. We need to respect that we’re all sisters and brothers. Thanksgiving is, I think, a beautiful time to recognize that commonality.” †