GREENFIELD — The Interfaith Council of Franklin County held an all-inclusive service and turkey takeout dinner on the Greenfield Common Sunday afternoon, bringing warmth to an otherwise brisk weekend.
Organizer and Leadership Council member Kate Mason said although the Interfaith Council has been hosting events on a near-monthly basis, this was its first food-based Thanksgiving event.
The service that preceded the handout of dinners consisted of musical performances of uplifting classics woven between audience thought-sharing, prayer and poetry. When it came time to line up for food, dozens wrapped around the common for Village Pizza slices and one of 35 to-go meals prepared by social worker Chad Wright.
“This past week, I felt like a kid getting ready for a birthday party because I was so excited to be here and be with you all,” host and organizer Lance Humphrey said to a crowd that packed the green.
Toward the beginning of the service, a microphone was circulated around the crowd for willing participants to share concerns they had about society, their personal lives or whatever they felt like volunteering.
“This year,” Leadership Council member Hetty Startup said, “we felt it was very important to stress our theme for the year, which is, ‘We are not alone.’”
Volunteered concerns included worries about ill or deceased loved ones, loneliness, and hatred within society. After each person shared their concern, they would say aloud, “I am not alone,” reciprocated by a collective recitation of, “We are not alone” by others in attendance.
“God bless,” co-host and singer Annie Hassett said after she voiced her own concern. “We are not alone. There is a spirit with us every single minute.”
Audience participation didn’t stop there. Throughout the service, attendees sang along and added rhythm with shakers and noisemakers to popular and positive songs, such as “This Land is Your Land” and “Bridge Over Troubled Waters,” led by musicians Hassett, Humphrey, Ben Tousley, Joseph Trapasso and Jason Burbank.
“Music is so amazing with how it brings the spirit,” Humphrey said.
Toward the end of the service, Hassett brought everything together with a poem, titled “What If?” The poem summarized the sentiments expressed throughout the afternoon.
“What if,” she read aloud, “our responsibility was to light the light inside ourselves in order to see it shine in our sisters and brothers?”
Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-772-0261, ext. 261 or jmendoza@recorder.com.