Growing Gratitude

It is a bit of a cliché to talk about gratitude during the month of November, but cliché or not, I find the annual rhythm of pausing and reflecting on what I am thankful for a helpful discipline in a social landscape that continues to tell me that, what I have isn’t enough and who I am, is not enough.

Thanksgiving, in its historical and practiced identify, is not a Christian holiday, yet the very act of giving thanks is a deeply held faith practice finding expression in all the world’s major religions. I for one, need to be repeatedly reminded to make time and space for gratitude in order to cultivate a perspective that acknowledges God’s gifts and my own fallibility. 

There may be nothing so clarifying then reminding ourselves that life is a gift, and for us as Christians, one given by God, reconciled by Christ, and sustained by the Holy Spirit. So, throughout November, together as a community, we will take intentional time to give thanks in a multitude of ways leaning into this practice of gratitude as a faith community and hopefully as individuals and families.

First and foremost, we will be hosting a Gratitude Meal on Sunday November 19th, the same day we recognize and formally welcome our new members from 2023. This will be an opportunity for our community to come together around a meal to share stories, give thanks and be present one to another with delicious food and fellowship.

Secondly, throughout the month we will be creating “Gratitude Trees” in our narthex. Each week as you come to church, you are invited to write what you are grateful for on an individual leaf and hang it on the “trees” provided. This will be a physical representation of the multitude of thanksgiving shared across our community of faith.

Lastly, you are invited to allow your gratitude to flow in and through you to serve your neighbors. We will be collecting items throughout the month to be delivered to our local food shelves after December 1st. Allowing our perspectives to shift from scarcity to gratitude is not simply for ourselves, but as a gift to the world and to move us to reach out and be a good neighbor to those near and far. 

There are so many ways to show gratitude in the joys and trials of life, so together we will share in thanksgiving this month for:

This is the day that the Lord has made;
    let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24

Pr. Hannah Bergstrom de Leon