In the fall of 2005, the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council first thought of having a Table of Faiths celebration. It originally planned a small luncheon somewhere in the center of the city to which we would invite church leaders from the metro area and maybe they would bring some of their members. We thought we might get 50 people there.
When the Interfaith Council first thought of having a community gathering called the Table of Faiths, we thought 50 people might attend. – Linda Prugh, Council Director, Vedanta
Then a good friend of the Council, Gayle Krigel, gave us a pep talk that changed everything. She said, “Sometimes you just have to believe something is possible and take a chance!”
Her idea was to promote the event to at least 7,000 citizens all over the metro area, and count on possibly 300 attending. Then she opened her home to us, and for three weekends, two dozen of us stuffed envelopes. That was a nice experience in itself. One day I was working next to a rabbi, and as we stuffed envelopes and visited, he realized that he had played basketball with my husband for many years in the Jewish League.
That first year, the Table of Faiths luncheon venue was the Muehlbach Hotel, downtown, and the attendance was an incredible 650. I remember that at my table there were several faiths represented, which was very gratifying.
But the real thrill came when Mayor Kay Barnes presented the council‘s first Table of Faiths Award to Dr. Vern Barnet (See photo above.) for his leadership in founding the council back in 1989. For 17 years he had worked so hard to bring people of different faiths together, to work for the common purpose of establishing respect among different faiths. When those 650 people at our luncheon stood, representing at least 15 faiths, and applauded Dr. Barnet, you could feel the electricity!
At the close of the program, the children’s choir from St. Monica’s Catholic church came from the back of the hall singing “Peace Begins with Me.” As they moved up to the dais, they held out their little hands and took a number of adults up to the stage with them. Everybody in the room stood, sang, and applauded at the same time.
I then remembered Gayle Krigel’s pep talk, and mentally thanked her for encouraging us to move forward, believe something is possible, and take a chance.
Join us — take a chance — at Table of Faiths hybrid event on September 23, 2021. Register or become a sponsor today.
[Linda Prugh is a member of the Vedanta Society of Kansas City, where she has served as secretary since 1980. Linda is the author of Josephine MacLeod and Vivekananda’s Mission, a biography of the bold, vivacious American woman who met Swami Vivekananda in New York in 1895, became his disciple, and helped him carry the message of Vedanta to other U.S. cities as well as England and France.]