Gary Poore is a member of a committee that lined up the entertainment for the 2019 Logan Tabernacle Summer Concert Series, This year due to COVID-19 the series was canceled.
LOGAN – Although they have been pushed into the background because of COVID-19, Cache Community Connections (CCC) is still actively reaching out behind the scenes to help and bless the people of Cache Valley.
The group organizes programs that bring the community together, like remembering Martin Luther King, celebrating Thanksgiving and other events to narrow the divide across the different local religious and civic spectrums.
Richard West, a member of the group of local religious, civic, and business leaders in Cache Valley, said they first came together to organize an interfaith memorial service following the tragic events on September 11, 2001. That became a time when the whole community came together.
“Working together was such a positive experience that the group agreed to continue meeting monthly to foster understanding and cooperation among all religious groups in Cache Valley,” he said. “In the past 18 years, the local interfaith and civic organization has sponsored an interfaith Thanksgiving service in which representatives of many different faith traditions have gathered to share spoken messages, singing, and other forms of worshipful expressions of gratitude and hope.
“This year, due to the pandemic our gathering will assume other forms, virtual and written, but it will still celebrate the many examples of interfaith collaboration and community service that have lightened the burdens and eased the pain and suffering of those who have been affected by disease and the associated challenges of economic distress, hunger, unhappiness, and loneliness,” he continued. “The pandemic has isolated many and exposed the differences between us, but it has also given us opportunities to show our goodness and commitment to one another as we have bridged differences and addressed the great needs in our community.”
West said it has been remarkable to watch the ways throughout the past several months the group has gathered their efforts across faith and cultural divides to provide food and other commodities to hundreds of families suffering unemployment, hunger, and illness.
“Members of many faiths contributed to relief efforts managed by other faiths as they sorted food, loaded cars, and delivered food to the homes of families in need,” he said. “Our community has provided meals to hundreds of persons each month, and donated food and finances to our local food pantry.”
The group of religious and civic leaders have gathered to help and have shared our resources for the benefit of all and have done so without considering church membership or cultural differences.
“We have reached across the boundaries that might otherwise divide us, and now we are thankful for these acts of grace and service,” West said.
The most recent CCC initiative is getting organizations throughout the valley to organize food drives to benefit the Cache Community Food Pantry clients. They want everyone to make an effort to bring food to the pantry to help struggling families during the holidays. The food drive ends Saturday Dec. 5, as a drop-off date, but the pantry will accept donations throughout the holidays.