11.23.2023 | Thanksgiving Roundup
"But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ"
This past weekend, we celebrated Friendsgiving with dear friends from the church we previously belonged to and the church where we are now members. You may remember that our former church closed during the pandemic, which required us to find a new place to worship. God led us to Redeemer very quickly, and we have been blessed to see many of our friends (nearly 30 if you count kids) join us over at Redeemer. While I will always miss Cross of Christ, I am deeply thankful for the relationships we built there and that we can continue in many of those relationships today.
Thanksgiving marks the (official) beginning of the holiday season. For many, this is indeed the “most wonderful time of the year,” for others, this season is a painful reminder that things are not how they should be. Personally, this time of year is a time when grief wakes up from its summer slumbers to rear its ugly head again. At the Friendsgiving, as mentioned earlier, I took a moment to look up and down the table and realized that nearly every one of us had gone through some significant loss in the past year. Some lost jobs, others lost relationships, and many lost family members. If you stopped to think about it too long, the grief would overwhelm you.
I am reminded of the opening words of Douglas McKilvey’s “A Liturgy for Feasting with Friends” (which you should definitely download and read with family and friends today.
CELEBRANT: To gather joyfully
is indeed a serious affair,
for feasting and all enjoyments
gratefully taken are,
at their heart, acts of war.
PEOPLE: In celebrating this feast
we declare that
evil and death,
suffering and loss,
sorrow and tears,
will not have the final word
Indeed, this week and this season are painful for many of us. May we not lose heart and may we remember and rejoice in our salvation that will culminate in a feast beyond what we could imagine.
Take joy, friends. All will be well.
Reading
Lord of the Table - Peter Leithart - First Things - “We keep the feast for the sake of the world, so the Father’s hospitality will not vanish from the earth.”
9 Things You Should Know About Thanksgiving - Joe Carter - The Gospel Coalition
A Hope for Thanksgiving - Sarah Condon - Mockingbird
When Grief Holds Hands With Gratitude: - Mockingbird - “In human relationships, the transforming presence of love is worth the inevitability of grief.” – Michael Gerson
Listening
Watching
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (Streaming on AppleTV+) - Must be watched every year. It’s a classic!
Ratatouille (Streaming on Disney+) - Perfect to have on in the background while pies are finishing and guests are arriving.
The Blind Side - The Thanksgiving scene gets me every time.
If you have a favorite Thanksgiving movie, let me know in the comments?
Recommending
Here are a couple of liturgies you could print out and read with your family today.
A Liturgy for Feasting with Friends
If you’re like me and you’re feeling a mixture of both joy and sadness as you enter this season, Every Moment Holy, has a great collection of liturgies for those of us in seasons of grief. I recommend the section, “Liturgies for Seasons of Grieving” and the “Difficult Season” bundle.
Finally, I’ll leave you with this Litany of Thanksgiving from the Book of Common Prayer.
A Litany of Thanksgiving (from the Book of Common Prayer)
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 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 time to rest and worship,
We thank you, Lord.
For all who are patient in suffering and faithful in adversity,
We thank you, Lord.
For all who earnestly seek after truth, and all who labor for justice,
We thank you, Lord.
For all that is good and gracious in the lives of men and women, revealing the image of Christ,
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 forever. Amen
But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:57