WAKEFIELD — Wakefield’s annual Interfaith Thanksgiving service will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 25 at 7 p.m. at First Parish Congregational Church. Organized by the town’s clergy and musicians, this year’s service will include scripture readings, prayers, choral anthems and instrumental music with a brass quartet.
Leaders from the Emmanuel Episcopal Church, First Baptist Church, First Parish Congregational Church, St. Florence Roman Catholic Church, Temple Emmanuel, the Unitarian-Universalist Society of Wakefield, Greenwood Union Church and the Wakefield/Lynnfield United Methodist Church will all be participating. The Thanksgiving service is the largest ecumenical and interfaith event held in Wakefield each year.
This year’s service will feature a Thanksgiving sermon offered by Chris Dodds, the Youth Minister of the First Parish Congregational Church. Thanksgiving-themed music will be offered by a combined choir of the various houses of worship, under the direction of Michael Salvatore of Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Donna Burns of First Baptist and Don Hodgkins of First Parish. Music during the service will include two Thanksgiving anthems sung by the combined choirs and accompanied by brass, a hymn concertato on “Come, Ye Thankful People, Come” accompanied by the brass quartet and an organ prelude and postlude based on Thanksgiving hymns to be sung during the service.
A collection will be taken during the service to support the ministry of the Wakefield Interfaith Food Pantry, now in its 31st year. WIFP Board of Directors member Wendy Dennis will describe some of the work of the Food Pantry, which has provided food to increasing numbers of families in recent years, with an average of 350 visits each month.
“The annual Interfaith Thanksgiving service is always special as communities and individuals of diverse faith traditions come together to give thanks to God for the many blessings of life,” said the Rev. Matthew P. Cadwell, Rector of Emmanuel Episcopal Church and president of the Wakefield Interfaith Clergy Association. “Each year we try to highlight different voices and perspectives even as we pray to the same God of creation.”
A festive reception hosted by the Diaconate and Youth of First Parish Congregational Church will follow the service in the church’s vestry during which time participants and the congregation can greet one another and enjoy a variety of seasonal treats.
First Parish Congregational Church is the stone church located at 1 Church St., adjacent to the Lower Common and the Lake. The church is handicapped accessible. For more information, contact the church office at 781-245-1539 or fpccx1644@aol.com.
