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Houses of worship to give thanks at interfaith service

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Rabbi Judy Cohen-Rosenberg, of the Community Reform Temple of Westbury, says she believes Thanksgiving is a holiday that reminds Americans what they have in common — including living in a country that allows people to celebrate their faith in any way they see fit. That’s part of the reason, Cohen-Rosenberg added, that East Meadow’s annual interfaith Thanksgiving service has been a beloved community tradition for decades.

Hundreds of people have attended the program in the past, and religious leaders said that all are welcome at this year’s service. The ceremony will be held at St. Raphael’s Roman Catholic Church, at 600 Newbridge Road, at 8 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 22.

“I am looking forward to standing with other people of faith and acknowledging together a God who is both beyond us and with us,” said the Rev. Robert Holz, St. Raphael’s pastor.

The Rev. Dave Parker, the former pastor of the East Meadow United Methodist Church and the founder of the East Meadow Clergy Association, created the interfaith service in 1982. It has been held every year since during the week of Thanksgiving, and cycles through the various religious communities. When it takes place at a synagogue, a member of the Christian clergy delivers the homily, or sermon. When it is held in a church, a rabbi is the main speaker.

Rabbi Ronald Androphy, of the East Meadow Jewish Center, a past president of the clergy group, said that its members value interfaith activities year-round. The service is one of the organization’s outstanding programs, he added. “It really bridges the different religious communities, and it leads to understandings of other religions and other people of other religions,” Androphy explained. “There’s just a tremendous spirit of community unity and Thanksgiving.”

Androphy said he looks forward to greeting congregants from the various houses of worship who attend each year. Past participants included St. Raphael’s, EMJC, Temple Emanu-El, St. Francis Polish National Catholic Church, Holy Trinity Orthodox Church and the Community Reform Temple of Westbury.

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