Hello dear church family,

I wanted to pass on a few resources to help us find our center in Christ this Thanksgiving. Though we’re not gathering in worship this year, there are many ways we can be encouraged to name our gratitude!

Here’s a resource from The Network that is geared towards families and kids, but could be taken up by anyone. It was published last year, but is still a great opportunity: https://network.crcna.org/faith-nurture/how-to-help-families-grow-gratitude-thanksgiving-and-beyond

Another resource from The Network, this is a really interesting project that attempts to translate the New Testament in the style of First Nations storytelling. Given the complicated relationship of Thanksgiving and First Nations and Native American peoples, this might be worth checking out this season: https://network.crcna.org/church-renewal/thanksgiving-read-new-testament-first-nations-eyes

Here’s a prayer based on Psalm 96 that I find particularly wonderful. I can imagine this being used around the Thanksgiving table: https://re-worship.blogspot.com/2013/05/thanksgiving-litany-reflections-on.html

This Thanksgiving Prayer is a modernized version of a George Webb prayer from 1625. This would also make a wonderful Thanksgiving table prayer: https://acollectionofprayers.com/2018/11/22/thanksgiving-prayer/

Finally, this blog post from 2010 has some really helpful reflections on how to take up the practice of gratitude in a deep and consequential way: https://day1.org/articles/5d9b820ef71918cdf2002c45/captured_by_gratitude