It's good to see you. You can find his fingerprints everywhere in New York. It's almost like whenever there's a challenging situation, he’s somebody that so many people trust that he’s involved.

And that's what they're doing.

That’s the partner. In New York City, at the historic Riverside Church,

the annual New York Latter-day Saint Professional Association Banquet was held to raise money for scholarships to give friends of different faiths an evening together, and to present the Visionary Leadership Award.

It’s somebody who looks into the future and, relying on their faith and relying on the teachings of the Savior, accomplishes a great deal.

This year's recipient of the award is Reverend A.R. Bernard, founder and pastor of the Christian Cultural Center, one of New York's largest houses of worship.

He not only addresses the spiritual needs of the members of his congregation, but also in a Christlike manner,

administers to the temporal needs of members and nonmembers of his congregation and the community.

He has willingly and welcomingly extended a hand of friendship to leaders and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, graciously inviting the Church to partner with him in efforts to feed the hungry and help lift communities. One of the first chances to lift together came during the Covid-19 pandemic. We were, at that time, our congregation, feeding some 25,000 persons per year in our food pantry. And of course, with Covid, the need expanded and in order to meet that need, we had to partner. And that’s where The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came into play. And that partnership took us from reaching 25,000 people to 135,000 people. They’re taking the guidance that they’ve learned through whatever faith you are and you're leading, you're leading the charge. Keynote speaker of the banquet, head coach Andy Reid, believes working together makes things better. It's tremendous when people come together with one plan in mind, and that's to make others better. And whatever situation you're in, we're going to be there,

be there to help you and support you. There are folks who lead their congregations who do great work, so why not partner with them and help them do what they’ve already been doing and they’re doing it well. For Reverend Bernard, collaborating with others from different backgrounds is what Jesus Christ taught. When we think about Jesus's conversation with the woman at the well, His story of the Good Samaritan, we understand that He was trying to tell us His message of love, faith, compassion, and outreach goes beyond our little tribe, our little group,

our little tradition, and it's open to a universal embrace and inclusiveness that forces us to work together, to build bridges, to respond to the needs that we can indeed exemplify what it means to be

a person of faith working towards the common good.