Bishop Ward talks about gratitude this week in her Connections video. What are you thankful for?
God is great, God is good, let us thank God for our food. By God’s grace we all are fed, give us Lord our daily bread. This prayer, often taught to children, is a good prayer for Thanksgiving.
It reminds us that God is indeed the giver of every good and perfect gift. It reminds us of our creatureliness before God; of our need for God’s sustenance day by day.
As Thanksgiving approaches, we remember those in the world, who have no bounty in their cupboards; for whom Thanksgiving Day will not be a day of feasting.
And for those who do feast on this day, we give thanks for strength to be in ministry to all the world. We, who have experienced God’s grace, respond with gratitude.
Christine Pohl, who will be one of our teachers at Annual Conference this coming June, reminds us that gratitude is a practice of a thriving congregation. It’s also the practice of a thriving soul.
In this season, when we see and appreciate the great bounty of the earth, may we sing with the psalmist, “Give thanks to the Lord, for the Lord is good. God’s mercies endure forever.”