Hundreds of Community Members Come Together For The 44th Annual Mayor’s Interfaith Prayer Breakfast

Thursday’s 44th Annual Mayor’s Interfaith Prayer Breakfast was a morning filled with a healthy dose of positivity and togetherness which highlighted Pasadena’s dedication to community service.

Put on by the longstanding community non-profit organization Friends In Deed, the second interfaith breakfast of Mayor Tornek’s term was greeted with hungry residents, community leaders and various organizations that comprise the tireless efforts of the city’s mission to help ones in need.

“Our task this morning is to focus our City’s strengths to face sometimes daunting challenges and Pasadena’s strengths are many. Our diversity and the honest debate that it engenders, the energy of our many non-profit organizations and their volunteers, the ingenuity of our businesses, the intellectual capacity of our institutions–and of course the power of our faith-based community,” said Mayor Terry Tornek

Friends in Deed is Pasadena’s longstanding community organization that that began back in 1894 and has since transformed into a local non-profit force that is dedicated to meeting the many needs of the most vulnerable residents of greater Pasadena and programs that most notably include the Bad Weather Shelter, the Women’s Room and the Food Pantry for the city’s homeless and at-risk individuals.

Every year, the organization brings hundreds of community members under one roof to break bread and pause from outside responsibilities for just a couple hours as a way to connect and celebrate the people and places that are synonymous with Pasadena.

“We are happy to be at this Prayer Breakfast. It’s really an opportunity for everyone to connect with the community to show that we are committed to helping our most vulnerable and to bring people together in this time of challenge,” said Friends In Deed Executive Director Rabbi Joshua Grater.

This year’s keynote speaker was Chief Operating Officer of California Community Foundation, John E. Kobara, who delivered a powerful speech filled with telling lessons of love and compassion and reminders that we are all united at the end of the day.

“I am enthused to think about our untapped potential, about the possibilities within each of us,” said Kobara.

Since 1915, the California Community Foundation has worked to transform generosity into impact to realize a stronger, healthier and more prosperous future for Los Angeles and surrounding areas.

From Antelope Valley to Artesia, from the San Fernando Valley to the South Bay, we have worked with generations of dedicated L.A. residents to realize their philanthropic visions and transform their communities.

Kobara’s speech was followed by live a live performance from the Eliot Arts Jazz Combo and Vocal Ensemble.

“There is no challenge too great for us to to face, if we face them together,” said Tornek.