To pray together in unity

Let all things now living unite in thanksgiving.
To God in the highest, hosanna and praise! …

From NorthJersey.com: A unified call to help the needy

PASSAIC — Clergy from the city’s various churches gathered Sunday afternoon to celebrate unity in a city rich in diversity.

The annual Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service on Sunday at Saints Peter & Paul Polish National Catholic Church, Passaic.

The 28th Annual Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service was held at Saints Peter & Paul Polish National Catholic Church, where leaders from Catholic, Presbyterian, Lutheran and Methodist churches gave thanks and cautioned against indifference to the needy.

Seventeen churches participated in the service, organized by the Passaic Ecumenical Committee.

“We also gather to offer thanks to God for the privilege of being citizens of this great country of ours,” said the Rev. Stanley Skrzypek, of the host church, in welcoming the congregation.

The message from the pulpit four days before Thanksgiving was to remember those who need help.

In a city where politicians have long debated, but never acted, on building a homeless shelter, members of the clergy urged the congregation to help clothe and feed those on the street.

“Today’s society is a society where it seems to have put faith aside and replaced it by indifference,” said Jody Baran, associate pastor of St. Michael Byzantine Catholic Cathedral. “That, my friends, is the greatest sin.”…

This is local ecumenism that works, Christians joining together to witness to Christ, not to belabor what divides us. Fr. Senior Stanley Skrzypek is one of the foremost ecumenists in the PNCC. He knows what works.

Similarly, I was at the North Colonie Ministerial’s 40th (or 41st, depends who you believe – and Fr. Skrzypek was there when it started) annual Thanksgiving prayer service and gathering. It was wonderful and did real good for the Capital City Rescue Mission. With the current economic crisis they are taxed to the limit.





Tags: Church, Ecumenism, Food