For a loving embrace of spiritual communities sharing delicious food and gratitude, join us for our annual Thanksgiving Interfaith Dinner.
The Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council is excited to bring our community together in person for a warm and welcoming Interfaith Thanksgiving Dinner. It’s a perfect chance to share stories, enjoy delicious food, and celebrate gratitude across different faiths. Whether you’ve attended before or this is your first time, come hungry for good vibes and great company! The honoree of this year’s Vern Barnet Interfaith Service Award is Alvin L. Brooks, a treasured Kansas City civic leader who is a powerful example of what genuine love of a community and its people can lead us to do in our faith communities to make our world a better place.
3:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Music from The Bohemian Dandelions
Jim Snead, Band Leader
4:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Welcome from our Sponsors and Gratitude Prayers before dinner
Faith Leaders from the Heartland Alliance of Divine Love, the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council, and the Kansas City Pipe Circle offer prayers of gratitude.
4:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Thanksgiving Dinner and Interfaith Leaders’ after dinner prayers
Vern has often said that no one in the region has done more for interfaith understanding than Alvin Brooks. Here are a few of the many forms of service he has given us:
Kansas City police officer
public schools community coordinator, Kansas City Public Schools
first black city department manager and creator of the Human Relations Department
councilman and mayor pro tem
founder of the Ad Hoc Group Against Crime
school board member, Hickman Mills
recipient of over a hundred awards including
named one of America’s Thousand Points of Light by President G. H. W. Bush
the Harry S. Truman Public Service Award
Henry W. Bloch Human Relations Award
Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce “Kansas Citian of the Year”
the Thorpe Menn Literary Excellence Award for his memoir, Binding Us Together: A Civil Rights Activist Reflects on a Lifetime of Community and Public Service
Subject of the 90-minute documentary by Academy Award winner Kevin Willmott, “The Heroic True-Life Adventures of Alvin Brooks”
a building at Rockhurst University: Alvin Brooks Center for Faith-Justice
inspiring community speaker and friend
