Four prominent religious leaders of the San Bernardino area will present reflections on the meaning of Thanksgiving to themselves and to our community and nation at the 32nd Annual San Bernardino Community Thanksgiving Service.
Rev. Larry Campbell is the senior pastor of St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church (A.M.E.) in San Bernardino. Before assuming the pastorate of St. Paul, he served for six years as the founding Pastor of Grace of Temecula Valley A.M.E.
Campbell is a retired Chief Warrant Officer-5 from the United States Marine Corps after serving more than 29 years of dedicated military service. He currently serves as the First Vice-Chairman of the Inland Empire Concerned African-American Churches (I.E.C.A.A.C).
Father Leonard DePasquale has served the historic St. Bernardine Church in San Bernardino since 2005. Prior to becoming part of the Diocese of San Bernardino he served in various churches and missions around the world. St. Bernardine Church was founded in 1862 and is the oldest Catholic church in the county.
Rev. Petra Malleis-Sternberg is the Senior Pastor of First Congregational United Church of Christ in San Bernardino, and has served that congregation since 2004. She currently serves as President of the San Bernardino Clergy Association and recently chaired the San Bernardino Bicentennial Festival of Faiths committee.
Rabbi Hillel Cohn served as rabbi of Congregation Emanu El from 1963 to 2001 and is currently rabbi emeritus of the congregation. He has been actively involved in numerous community activities and served as president of the San Bernardino Clergy Association for two different terms.
He is the Chairperson of the City of San Bernardino Bicentennial Committee which has been responsible for the many commemorations of the 200th anniversary of the founding of San Bernardino. He currently serves as the national president of the National Association of Retired Reform Rabbis.
The Community Thanksgiving Service will be held on Tuesday, November 23rd at 7:30 p.m .at Our Lady of the Assumption Roman Catholic Church, 796 W. 48th Street, San Bernardino. Clergy and choirs of the greater San Bernardino community will participate in the service. The service is sponsored by the San Bernardino Clergy Association, the interfaith organization of clergy serving the greater San Bernardino area.
The service is open to the public. Those attending are invited to bring non-perishable food, which will be distributed to the hungry of the community.