The annual citywide Interfaith Thanksgiving Service on Tuesday holds special significance for the host, Temple Beth El.

Not only will synagogue members open their doors to the largest public gathering yet to see the recently renovated sanctuary on Providence Road, but the annual celebration - the city's 36th - carries numeric significance, too.

Thirty-six "means 'double life,' " says Rabbi Judy Schindler, who will give the welcoming address. "And it will add more power to that when we open our doors and let everybody in."

The night of food, music and common prayer, sponsored by Mecklenburg Ministries, is expected to draw at least 1,300 participants.

Saturday, First Baptist Church in Charlotte distributed more than 1,000 Thanksgiving meals. In the coming week, other congregations will gear up to help the needy, while still others are inviting the public to join them in giving thanks.

The Interfaith Thanksgiving celebration offers a little of both, with many of the city's denominations participating in the celebration while also collecting canned goods for Loaves & Fishes.

"I think we have so much to be thankful for, rather than just focusing on our problems," said Mecklenburg Ministries Executive Director Maria Hanlin. "We have our relationships, our families, our faiths. We can hear the music. We can taste the wonderful food. It lifts us above the mess and the difficulties of our lives, and we can focus on higher things."

The first Thanksgiving gathering took place in 1976, co-founded by the Rev. Sidney Freeman of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlotte and Rabbi Harold Krantzler of Temple Beth El.

GIVING THANKS

Here is a partial list of church-related holiday events this week

Mecklenburg Ministries Interfaith Thanksgiving celebration: 7 p.m. Tuesday at Temple Beth El, 5101 Providence Road.

Calvary Church, 5810 Pineville-Matthews (N.C. 51): community family worship 7 p.m. Tuesday with coffee, cider and pie to follow.

Kingdom Fellowship Church, off Independence Boulevard at 2726 Chesterfield Ave.: Free uncooked turkeys to the first 150 families attending today's 6 p.m. family service. For information, call 704-491-8548.

Community Outreach Christian Ministries and the Harvest Center of Charlotte Inc.: four-day Thanksgiving telethon beginning tonight at the center, 1800 Brewton Drive (off Statesville Road). The center provides meals, shelter and other services to the homeless.

Gaston Interfaith Center: Thanksgiving service, 7 tonight at First United Methodist Church, 190 E. Franklin Blvd., Gastonia.

First Baptist of Mount Holly, 300 S. Main St.: "Thanksloving" feast - a holiday meal for anyone who needs it, Thursday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.