Three students from different religious backgrounds embodied the themes of an annual community interfaith Thanksgiving service held Nov. 18 at Congregation B'nai Tikvah in North Brunswick.

The program, sponsored by the South Brunswick Area Clergy Association, included representatives of 24 synagogues, mosques, churches, and Hindu temples.

The student panelists discussed the ways in which their schools enhanced their understanding of other faiths.

Aaron Gittleman, a junior at South Brunswick High School, said parents of students had been invited into his schools around the holidays to speak about Christmas, Hanukka, and Kwanza.

"In my classrooms, we have so many different religions, and it sparks so many cool conversations," said Aaron, who is Jewish.

Tatiana Gass, a junior at Franklin High School, said her school had ethnic clubs, open to all students, where cultures and traditions are shared.

"We had a Ramadan event at the school, which allowed everyone to learn about and get a feel" for the Muslim holiday, said Tatiana, who is Christian.

Omer Turan, a senior at Noor-Ul-Iman Muslim School in South Brunswick, said that although his classmates are all Muslim, they represent a wide variety of ethnicities and national backgrounds.

"We are taught to respect all other faiths," said Omer. "Only through knowledge and understanding of each other will we have peace in the world."

The panel discussion was part of a Thanksgiving service that has been a tradition of the clergy group for more than 20 years, its site rotating among religious institutions.

Benjy Levin, a junior at South Brunswick High School and a member of B'nai Tikvah, opened the program with a trumpet rendition of "America the Beautiful." Selections from both the Jewish and Christian Bible were read by religious leaders as was a piece from the Koran, which was recited in both Arabic and English.

Food donations were collected for the South Brunswick Food Pantry while monetary contributions were accepted to benefit the clergy association's scholarship fund. The annual scholarship is awarded to a local high school student in recognition of service toward building inclusiveness and understanding.

Men and boys of all religions donned a skullcap or yarmulke as they listened to the Congregation B'nai Tikvah Makelah and choirs from the Crossroads Middle School North in Monmouth Junction and the Noor-Ul-Iman Muslim School. Also performing was the Evangel Praise Choir of the Evangel United Brethren Church of Kendall Park, made up of immigrants from the African country of Sierra Leone, dressed in brightly colored garb and head coverings.

"We believe in the universality of all of us," said its religious leader, the Rev. James Kabangai, who acknowledged this was his first interfaith event. "It was very nice. We all belong to one creator, and we need to come together."

Cantor Bruce Rockman of B'nai Tikvah ended the program accompanied by the Sons of Tikvah band, who played traditional Jewish music, often to a jazz beat.

"It is quite clear we are in a house of the Lord," he said. "We should express how we feel about God in whatever way you want to, whether that is singing, clapping, or dancing."

With that, a multi-ethnic hora wound its way around the sanctuary as other audience members clapped along.