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BRISTOL — “Leave your muskets by the Purell dispenser” was the standing order at St Mary’s Church in Bristol on Sunday, June 26.
The church hosted the Artillery Train of Bristol, the Knights of Columbus, and — most notably — clergy members from houses of worship throughout the town for the Annual Interfaith Service of the Bristol Fourth of July Committee.
“We’ve been doing this for several years now,” said event organizer Nat Squatrito.
“Each year, before the Fourth of July Parade, we’ll choose a local house of worship and invite clergy of different faiths to pray together for our country.”
Among the participants on that Sunday were three local Catholic parishes: St. Mary and St. Elizabeth Parishes (both on Wood Street) and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church (on State Street).
In addition to these parishes, Columban Father John Branigan (of the St. Columban’s Retirement Home) was present at the service. Also represented among the annual event’s Interfaith Participants are congregations of Bristol’s Episcopal, Baptist, Congregationalist and Jewish communities.
The keynote speaker for the afternoon was Father Henry Zinno, the pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish and the Administrator of St. Elizabeth Parish.
In his address, Father Zinno identified ways that the town of Bristol’s well-known patriotic fervour could serve as a model for the work of inspiring others to faith.
“Here we are in this great patriotic town, where every Fourth of July we take to the streets to celebrate our country,” he said.
“This year especially, it’s such a joy to be able to celebrate the holiday the way we always have — picnics, burgers, clamcakes, chowder, and, of course, our parade. But we are also called to be champions of faith, and to share it with and before others - to bring light to those lost after 487 days of darkness and fear.”
After the address, Father Zinno and Father Barry Gamache (the Pastor of hosting parish St. Mary’s) were presented with certificates thanking them for their assistance in making the service possible. Father Zinno, at a reception after the ceremony, thanked Squatrito and his wife Patty for their part in organizing the Interfaith Service.
The Interfaith Service has been conducted regularly since the 1980’s, usually taking place a few days before the town observes its Patriotic Exercises, the annual celebration which gives Bristol its claim to the oldest regular Fourth of July celebration in the country.
