The Alliance of Divine Love is an international, interfaith ministry which recognizes and honors the validity and wisdom of all faith traditions. In the spring of 2009, a committee of local Alliance of Divine Love ministers brought the international ADL conference to Kansas City for the first time. The theme chosen for the conference CREATING THE SACRED - Walking in Beauty & Light and included the expression of the Sacred through music, dance and arts. In 2013, the Heartland ministers again invited minisers from across the country to meet at Unity Village Retreat Center for a weelend celebrating SACRED SPACES - SACRED PLACES. Beginning in january of 2013, the Heartland ministers also instituted a community outreach program, Vistas: Views from the Mountaintop, monthly spiritual gatherings which explore the many pathways to the Divine. Heartland ADL, expressive both of our location in the Heartland of the country and the “heart” with which we approach our work. Heartland ministers are well-known through the interfaith community, through collestive and individual work. In 2010, the Heartland ADL accepted the lead responsibility for the Annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Ritual Dinner, an event which became an annual event in 1984. In its first year as host, Heartland ADL created the Vern Barnet Interfaith Service Award, which is given annually at the Interfaith Thanksgiving Dinner.