URBANDALE, Iowa - Leaders of Christian, Jewish and Islamic faiths gathered Friday for an interfaith prayer service to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Pope John Paul II's visit to the heartland.

The service was part of a weekend of events recognizing the papal visit on Oct. 4, 1979, when the head of the Roman Catholic Church addressed the issues of faith, agriculture and its future implications.

The setting for John Paul II's homily three decades ago was the gently rolling hills of central Iowa at Living History Farms in Urbandale, where 350,000 people gathered on the brisk fall day.

He told the crowd to conserve the land well "so that your children's children and generations after them will inherit an even richer land than was entrusted to you."

Friday's prayer service at the site drew 200 worshipers and was held in the Flynn Barn instead of at the Church of the Land because of cold, rainy weather.

Bishop Richard E. Pates, of the Diocese of Des Moines, said the interfaith service was in the tradition of Pope John Paul II, bringing together the faithful from various religions.

"May our coming together not only mark the event of 30 years ago but represent present intentions to pursue a course of peace and justice in service to the human family," he said.

Pates also read a message from Pope Benedict XVI, asking that the Christian faithful be inspired by Pope John Paul II's "spiritual message and global vision."

Rabbi David Kaufman, with the Temple B'Nai Jeshurun in Des Moines, encouraged all faiths to "work harder to feed the hungry, house the homeless, lift up the fallen and bring freedom to the captive."

"On this night, we are particularly glad to be sharing prayer and song with the broader community in the hope that together we may repair what is all too broken in our world," he said.

A representative of Des Moines' Muslim community read in Arabic from the Quran, and various other Christian leaders recited readings and prayers.

People traveled from around the state for the weekend's event.

The Rev. Robert "Bud" Grant, a professor at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, who also was at the event with the pope three decades ago, said people of other faiths acknowledge Pope John Paul II's visit because he was a charismatic leader who many recognized as a caring and holy man.

"I suppose it's the same phenomenon with the Dalai Lama," Grant said. "There are not many Tibetan Buddhists in America, but that doesn't mean we can't be inspired by his wisdom, and I think it's the same with John Paul II."

Grant, who went on to teach environmental ethics, was scheduled to make a presentation along with some of his students at today's symposium titled "What God Has Given and Human Hands Have Made."

He said it's an appropriate topic because the papal visit to Iowa brought the "most sophisticated and explicit position by the Catholic Church" on peoples' relationship to the earth.

"(The pope) was challenging the participants to go to the next level," he said. "Not only providing adequate resources for the poor and future generations but also preserving ecosystems for their own sake."

One of Grant's students, Justin Heaton, a senior at St. Ambrose, said it's an important topic because "it's something our generation has to deal with." He thinks it makes sense to link environmental issues to a person's faith.

"A lot of it ties in with God and your responsibility to do his will helping others," Heaton said.

Other speakers at today's symposium will include Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey, U.S. Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb., a former USDA secretary and former governor of Nebraska, and Dr. Kenneth Quinn, president of the World Food Prize Foundation.