Interfaith council hosting Thanksgiving worship service for the community
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IDAHO FALLS — Representatives from different faiths are coming together this Sunday, Nov. 19 for an interfaith Thanksgiving worship service.
It’s happening inside the chapel at the Idaho Falls Community Food Basket’s distribution center at 351 West 14th Street.
The Regional Council for Christian Ministry, which owns the food basket, organized an interfaith council several years ago and is hosting the service.
Kevin Call, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who’s on the council, tells EastIdahoNews.com the purpose of the event is to bring people of all denominations under one roof to share their thoughts about Thanksgiving.
He’s glad to utilize the space the LDS church donated to the food basket last year for this purpose.
“This is the first time we’ve used it and we’re excited about it,” Call says.
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There are four speakers lined up, along with several musical numbers from local choirs and musicians.
One of the speakers will be Ann Bjorklund, a pastor with New Day Lutheran Church. She’s planning to share some thoughts about grace, and how it relates to gratitude and Thanksgiving.
“I believe in God’s grace for all of us,” she says. “That’s one of the really strong parts of my faith. There’s nothing we can do to earn that and that’s one of the things I think is important to share with people.”
Bjorklund is from Minnesota and has worked as a minister in the North Star state for many years. She accepted a call to serve as a pastor in Idaho Falls last year.
Though she has no family ties to eastern Idaho, the idea of serving in an area with lots of mountains was appealing to her.
“I was excited to interview with congregations in the Idaho area,” Bjorklund explains.
The seed for pursuing a life of ministry is something Bjorklund says was planted early on in her life. When most kids her age were playing teacher, she was “playing preacher.”
After working in a sporting goods store for about 15 years, she finally decided to act on the internal call she felt to become a pastor.
“I finally paid attention to that and started seminary in 2011,” says Bjorklund.
It’s rewarding for her to serve in an area where people are “really down to earth, hardworking and seem to care for others.”
Her congregation is involved in serving at the Idaho Falls Soup Kitchen and the food basket. She appreciates their efforts in making people feel welcome and letting them know that “God loves them.”
Pastor Phil Hagen with First Presbyterian Church, another member of the RCCM, will give the invocation at the Sunday service.
Since the annual interfaith service began in 2019, Hagen says it’s been a huge benefit to the community to host these gatherings.
“So much of our time is spent being separate and different and this is a great way to just be one people under God. It’s important that we focus on what brings us together and not what separates,” Hagen says.
Call agrees, saying the community is stronger when people of all faiths can associate with one another and work together.
This event comes on the heels of a community food drive, in which volunteers from different faiths collected 80,000 pounds of food last month for those in need. Opportunities to serve together like that “makes such a difference,” Call says.
“We’ve been able to (develop) such a good feeling with each other and we’re friends. COVID-19 took a big toll on a lot of these churches, but I think this has brought us much closer together,” Call says. “We feel very fortunate to be able to serve with these guys.”
Call and the rest of the council are inviting the community to attend Sunday’s service. Hagen hopes participants walk away with a greater desire to fellowship those of other faiths and help those in need.
The worship service starts at 4 p.m. and will last about an hour. Light refreshments will be served afterwards.
