Before we gather around our Thanksgiving tables, we have an opportunity to widen the circle.
On Thursday, Nov. 19, people from across Dallas will come together at Congregation Shearith Israel for the ninth annual Greater Dallas Interfaith Thanksgiving Service. Beginning at 7 p.m., the gathering offers a meaningful way to enter the Thanksgiving season: in the company of neighbors whose beliefs and traditions may differ, but whose lives are connected by the community we share.
RSVP HERE
Light refreshments and fellowship will follow at 8 p.m., giving participants time to meet, continue conversations and make new connections.
For Thanks-Giving Foundation, this annual tradition expresses something central to our work: gratitude can bring people into relationship. It gives us a place to begin—with appreciation for the people who sustain us, the kindness we have received and the responsibilities we share as neighbors.
The service has roots in a local commitment to building those relationships. Founded in 2018 by Rabbi Ari Sunshine of Congregation Shearith Israel, the gathering has brought together Jewish, Christian and Muslim communities, alongside other community partners, in a shared spirit of thanksgiving. Even during the pandemic, the tradition continued virtually, connecting participating communities around gratitude in adversity.
That continuity matters. Relationships across faiths grow through repeated encounters: showing up, listening, extending hospitality and learning something about the people with whom we share a city. An annual gathering creates an opportunity to renew those habits—and to invite someone new into the circle.
Gratitude is a particularly generous starting point. We may express it in different languages, draw on different sacred teachings or practice it in different ways. Yet many of us recognize the experience beneath it: knowing that someone helped us through a difficult season, that a kindness arrived when we needed it, or that our lives have been enriched by another person’s care.
Giving thanks together invites us to notice those connections. It also encourages us to consider what we can offer in return.
That is where an evening of reflection can reach into everyday life. Appreciation for a neighbor can become an invitation to talk. Gratitude for a community can become a commitment to serve it. A new acquaintance can become someone we recognize, greet and seek to understand.
The fellowship following the service is part of that opportunity. Staying for refreshments gives us time to introduce ourselves, ask a question and hear a story. For anyone attending an interfaith gathering for the first time, a simple conversation can be a welcoming first step toward a deeper relationship.
This spirit carries the purpose of Thanks-Giving Square beyond its downtown grounds. As a shared sacred space and civic movement, the Square convenes people across beliefs, cultures and backgrounds around values that help us live well together: respect, civility, kindness and gratitude. Its interfaith gatherings extend that invitation into the wider community.
We invite you to make this evening part of your Thanksgiving season. Bring a friend, invite a neighbor and leave time afterward to meet someone new.
A good city grows through the choices its people make every day—to listen, to welcome, to care and to recognize one another’s dignity. On Nov. 19, we have an opportunity to practice those choices together, beginning with thanks.
Join us
Ninth annual Greater Dallas Interfaith Thanksgiving Service
Thursday, Nov. 19, 2026
7 p.m. — Interfaith service
8 p.m. — Light refreshments and fellowship
Congregation Shearith Israel
9401 Douglas Ave., Dallas, TX 75225