Daily Archives: November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving

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I wish you a happy Thanksgiving today. Please take a few moments and stop to give praise and thanks to God for his bountiful blessings to us as individuals and as a nation. I am thankful for God’s gift of himself to us, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I am thankful for God’s call to ordained ministry and CANA that made it possible. I am thankful for St. Andrew’s and for my bishop, Roger Ames. I am thankful for the beauty of the Anglican Tradition and worship and for my Methodist heritage.

I am thankful for my family and friends, past and present, and for a childhood that was second to none. I am thankful for my family of origin and for the many wonderful memories I have of Thanksgiving growing up in the small town of Van Wert. What a blessing it was to have two wonderful parents and my extended family all living in the same town. I am thankful for my bride, who is the bestest wife a man could ever want. She always tries to honor our family traditions and for that I am very thankful. I am thankful for my kids and for the gift of fatherhood.

Mom basting the turkey at Thanksgiving

What are you thankful for?

From the Methodist Hymnal

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Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

Come, ye thankful people, come,
raise the song of harvest home;
all is safely gathered in,
ere the winter storms begin.
God our Maker doth provide
for our wants to be supplied;
come to God’s own temple, come,
raise the song of harvest home.

All the world is God’s own field,
fruit as praise to God we yield;
wheat and tares together sown
are to joy or sorrow grown;
first the blade and then the ear,
then the full corn shall appear;
Lord of harvest, grant that we
wholesome grain and pure may be.

For the Lord our God shall come,
and shall take the harvest home;
from the field shall in that day
all offenses purge away,
giving angels charge at last
in the fire the tares to cast;
but the fruitful ears to store
in the garner evermore.

Even so, Lord, quickly come,
bring thy final harvest home;
gather thou thy people in,
free from sorrow, free from sin,
there, forever purified,
in thy presence to abide;
come, with all thine angels, come,
raise the glorious harvest home.

A Thanksgiving Prayer

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Almighty and gracious Father, we give you thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those who harvest them. Make us, we pray, faithful stewards of your great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

A Thanksgiving Litany

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Let us give thanks to God our Father for all his gifts so freely bestowed upon us.

For the beauty and wonder of your creation, in earth and sky and sea.
We thank you, Lord.

For all that is gracious in the lives of men and women, revealing the image of Christ,
We thank you, Lord.

For our daily food and drink, our homes and families, and our friends,
We thank you, Lord.

For minds to think, and hearts to love, and hands to serve,
We thank you, Lord.

For health and strength to work, and leisure to rest and play,
We thank you, Lord.

For the brave and courageous, who are patient in suffering and faithful in adversity,
We thank you, Lord.

For all valiant seekers after truth, liberty, and justice,
We thank you, Lord.

For the communion of saints, in all times and places,
We thank you, Lord.

Above all, we give you thanks for the great mercies and promises given to us in Christ Jesus our Lord;
To him be praise and glory, with you, O Father, and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.

Cal Thomas: Shopping On Thanksgiving — Is Nothing Sacred?

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In recent years we have seen the first wave of the advertising onslaught around Halloween. And that has been mostly a few trees popping -up in department stores. But this year, the line between Thanksgiving and Christmas has been bulldozed. Ads for 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. sales on “Black Friday” and even 10 p.m. sales on Thanksgiving evening are the norm. And like virginity that has been violated, it will be impossible to re-draw the lines.

Read it all.