October 25, 2018
ROTHKO CHAPEL TO HOST 34TH ANNUAL HOUSTON INTERFAITH THANKSGIVING SERVICE
The theme of the service is “care for creation”
Houston, TX – On Thursday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m., the Rothko Chapel will host the 34th Annual Houston Interfaith Thanksgiving Service. In advance of the Chapel’s scheduled 2019 Symposium, “Toward a Better Future: Transforming the Climate Crisis,” the theme of this service will be “care for creation.” Leaders and members of nine different faith communities from across the city will come together to share prayers, readings, chants, and reflections on the theme “care for creation.” This year’s service will include Baha’i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, and Zoroastrian traditions. A reception follows the program. This event is free and open to all, no registration required. The Rothko Chapel is located at 3900 Yupon at Sul Ross, 77006.
“The climate is rapidly changing,” said David Leslie, Executive Director of the Rothko Chapel, “and care for all of creation is a consistent theme found in many faith traditions. As it will take all of us to effect the type of change that will benefit future generations, engaging diverse religious perspectives during the Thanksgiving season helps to strengthen dialogue, understanding, and joint work among our different communities.”
The service started 34 years ago in response to the bombing of a storefront mosque. After helping to raise money to support the mosque’s repairs, the Annual Thanksgiving Service co-founders, George Atkinson and Garland Pohl, wanted to find a way for different faith organizations to come together, as thanksgiving is a common value shared by all the major world religions.
For Pohl, the service is something that every Houston faith community should embrace. “It is so important for us to come together as religious people,” she said, “and to support each other in our city, which has such great diversity, and which has such peaceful coexistence among the traditions.” The creation of the event is a milestone in the development of interfaith dialogue in Houston.