Marking Thanksgiving across religious cultures
JIM DE BOOM
You are invited to join the seventh annual Interfaith Celebration of
Thanksgiving on Sunday at 7 p.m. at Newport Harbor Lutheran.
Speaking in the hour-long program will be Dennis Short of Harbor
Christian Church and the president of Newport Mesa Irvine Interfaith
Council, which is sponsoring the event; Greg Kelley of Our Lady of
Mt. Carmel Catholic Church; Mrs. Jamie Day of Newport Church of Jesus
Christ Latter-day Saints, Cathleen Coots of Newport Center United
Methodist Church, Gary Collins of St. Mark Presbyterian Church in
Newport Beach; and Asha Knott, a member of Harbor Christian Church
Presenting special Thanksgiving messages will be Jim McCammon of
Newport Harbor Lutheran Church, Imam Sadullah Khan from the Islamic
Center of Irvine and Rabbi Mark Rubenstein of Temple Isaiah in
Newport Beach.
The Harbor Lutheran Chancel Choir will present two songs.
The price of admission is two cans of food per person to be
donated to needy families in the area.
“This is a great way to warm our hearts at the beginning of
Thanksgiving week, while we celebrate Thanksgiving Day with our
families and in our own religious traditions,” Short said.
HEART AND HANDS IN SERVICE TODAY
As you read the Daily Pilot this morning, there is still time to
join in Hearts and Hands Day sponsored by the Newport Mesa Irvine
Interfaith Council.
More than 500 people from several area congregations, including
Christian, Jews and Muslims, along with service club members will be
working on service projects to benefit our local community, as well
as the needy around the world.
The event will take place between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. at the
Latter-day Sts. Church, at 16th Street and Dover Avenue.
“Besides collecting items for the ‘Support Our Troops’ project, we
will also have an area set up for writing cards and letters to our
military.
“We are working on a donation from Polaroid film to add photos to
the letters making them more personal,” Day said.
“Something we are also doing this year ... with the theme being
‘Families Together,’ is to offer family history research instruction
to our community volunteers. There will be four computers set up with
trained instructors ready to teach with the latest online information
for tracing your family roots,” she added.
SONS OF THE AMERICAN LEGION
The Sons of the American Legion, Squadron 191 of Newport Harbor,
will hold its annual awards dinner on Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. with Orange
County Register columnist Gordon Dillow delivering the keynote
address, according to Commander Les Hunt.
Hunt will present a memorial service for our fallen comrades,
special awards and certificates and the Member of the Year Award.
James Blake, Area 5 chairman of the Sons of the American Legion’s
California commissioner staff, will address the squadron.
A full dinner buffet will be presented by Cigi’s Waterfront Cafe,
free of charge to Sons of the American Legion members. The Legion
Hall is at 215 E. 15th St., Newport Beach. For more information, call
Hunt at (714) 649-3315 or e-mail GuanoHappens@aol.com.
KIWANIS HONOR STUDENTS
The Costa Mesa Kiwanis Club honored local students with the Eagle
Pride Award at a recent meeting. Honored by club president Dee
Pritchard were: Sofia Leal and Alejandro Trancoso from Adams
Elementary, Frances Thorpe and Josh Vanderwal from California
Elementary. Rosa Martin and Jim Mendez from Rea Elementary, Tewinkle
School Upeka Keenawinna and Bryan Perez from Tewinkle Intermediate,
Christian Aguilar and Emma Milton from Victoria Elementary and
Francisco Alverez and Sueima Arroyo from Wilson Elementary.
Congratulations to each student.
THE FIRST JEW OR THE FIRST MUSLIM
Rabbi Reuven Firestone, a renowned scholar of Medieval Judaism and
Islam, will discuss “Abraham: The First Jew or the First Muslim” at a
Community Scholar Program Sunday from 7 to 8:45 p.m. at Temple Bat
Yahm. The series is co-sponsored by the temple and the Orange County
Community Scholar Program, chaired by Fred and Rosella Bernstein.
RSVP your attendance to (949) 644-1999 or by e-mail to
kmigdall@thy.org. Temple Bat Yahm is at 1011 Camelback St., Newport
Beach.
HARBOR MESA LIONS SPONSOR PEACE POSTER CONTEST
The Harbor Mesa Lions recently sponsored the Lions International
Peace Poster Contest at the Westside Boys and Girls Club and awarded
$50 to the winner, 11-year-old Lisbeth Cortiz.
Her poster will be submitted to District 4 L4 Gov. Barbara
Hayward, along with other winning posters from around the district.
More than 350,000 entries from all over the world will be
submitted in the contest, with the grand winner earning $2,500 and a
trip to New York with two family members for an appearance at the
United Nations.
Sixteen entries were submitted through the Boys and Girls Club
this year and Harbor Mesa President Sandi Scheafer said she was
impressed by the expression and creativity of the entries, which were
submitted by 11- to 13-year-olds. Joan Parks and Carol Van Holt, the
contest’s co-organizers, also presented the Boys and Girls Club with
a donation from the Harbor Mesa Lions to help with supplies for the
entries.
TURKEY OF THE YEAR
In next Saturday’s Daily Pilot, the Community and Clubs column
will honor Newport Mesa’s Turkeys of the Year in our third annual
awards program. Reminder to the nominating committee ... final
nominations are by 5 p.m. on Monday. Happy Thanksgiving to all!
WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF SERVICE CLUBS
David L. Bahnsen, sponsored by Huntington Beach Rotarian Harry
Selling, who joined the Rotary Club of Newport Beach Sunrise. Carol
Bernstein, sponsored by Maureen Coffey, and Sally Uhlin, sponsored by
Marian Perrin, who joined the Harbor Mesa Lions Club and were
installed by District 4 L4 Gov. Barbara Hayward.
WORTH REPEATING
From the Thought for Today, provided by Greg Kelley of the Newport
Mesa Irvine Interfaith Council: “Our happiness depends on the habit
of mind we cultivate. So practice happy thinking every day. Cultivate
the merry heart, develop the happiness habit, and life will become a
continual feast.”
-- NORMAN VINCENT PEALE
SERVICE CLUB MEETINGS THIS WEEK
TUESDAY
7:30 a.m.: The 48-member Newport Beach Sunrise Rotary Club will
meet at Five Crowns Restaurant to hear Ralph Linhardt discuss movies.
(https://www.newportbeach
sunriserotary.org).
WEDNESDAY
7:30 a.m.: The South Coast Metro Rotary Club will meet at the
Holiday Inn and the Newport Harbor Kiwanis Club will meet at the
University Athletic Club.
Noon: The Exchange Club of the Orange Coast meets at the Bahia
Corinthian Yacht Club.
* COMMUNITY & CLUBS is published Saturdays in the Daily Pilot.
Send your service club’s meeting information by fax to (714) 921-8655
or by e-mail to jdeboom@aol.com.
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