Before the turkey, give thanks.
A Community Thanksgiving Service will be held at 7 p.m. tonight at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Washington.
The service is a product of the Interchurch Forum, an ecumenical body that brings different churches together under one roof.
Following an opening hymn, music and scripture, a sermon will be delivered by the Rev. James Moore of Washington’s First Baptist Church.
“With the way things are for many people in our community it might not seem like we have a lot to be thankful for, but indeed we do,” Moore said Saturday when asked to describe the sermon he had prepared.
Drawing from the Old Testament, Moore will focus on the blessings of God and finding strength in faith, even in tough economic times.
Moore has preached an Interchurch Forum Thanksgiving service before, and also has presided over the group’s Easter sunrise service.
Interchurch Forum was founded around 30 years ago with a mission of providing people from different churches a platform to try and solve some of the community’s problems, said Harlan MacKendrick, treasurer.
Since its founding, the forum has helped spearhead the local Meals on Wheels program, which resulted in the delivery of food to the needy, elderly and shut-ins, according to MacKendrick.
The forum also was instrumental in starting the Zion Shelter & Kitchen, a homeless shelter and soup kitchen, in the basement of Washington’s Metropolitan AME Zion Church, he related.
As for the Thanksgiving service, “It’s really, simply, following the tradition that was started by the pilgrims in 1621 in having a get together and thanking the Lord for the past year’s successes,” he said.