Vision Keepers dinner celebrates four decades of religious service

Thirty-eight volunteers were selected by 21 faith communities at the annual Vision Keepers dinner hosted by Interfaith Action of Evanston on Sunday night. More than 350 people filled the Orrington Hotel ballroom to pay tribute to individuals who have helped their religious institutions. And St. Mark’s Episcopal Church of Evanston was honored for its 40 years of service hosting Interfaith Action’s Hospitality Center for the Homeless, the year-round weekday morning drop-in center. St. Mark’s received the Community Service Award. “Every Monday through Friday morning, from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., an average of 35 to 40 people come up the front stairs at St. Mark’s, knowing they are welcome and will be treated with courtesy and dignity,” said Interfaith Action Executive Director Sue Murphy Berube in presenting the award. “Our participants call the Hospitality Center at St. Mark’s their ‘safe space,’” Berube said. Here is a list of this year’s Vision Keepers along with information