Nov 27
Dear Friends,
Let us begin in gratitude in this season of Thanksgiving: for places to live and food to eat; for opportunities to learn and grow; for our families—both blood and chosen—who nurtures us into being and belonging; for a faith tradition that invites us to seek the truth, no matter when the lessons revealed are harsh, disappointing, or humbling; for a religious community—this Fellowship—where we are held in compassion as we learn to confront the injustice that we unknowingly perpetrate.
The story of Thanksgiving we learn as children is largely a myth—pilgrims and indigenous people did not quite interact as reported; native peoples celebrate in thanks much more often than once a year; American Thanksgiving began during the Civil War in an effort by Abraham Lincoln to unite fractious families and starved hearts. Follow the link here for another version of this powerful myth.
https://www.uua.org/blueboat/
And the myth is powerful, because it is useful and advances truth. The details may be incorrect, even harmful in some ways. But the desire to pause, the need to pause and offer thanks for any gifts which life presents is as relevant today as at anytime during the past.
Let us be humbly thankful as we feast on Thursday, with these words of the Rev. Naomi King: “Let us join our hearts in gratitude on this wondrous day, where we have the abundance of our lives before us. We remember on this day of bounty, all those who do not have enough, who are afraid, who are lonely, and who suffer. We wish for the abundance of this world to be shared, for fear to become love, for the lonely to feel welcomed, and for the suffering to know rest and joy. For the labor, the love, the care that gave us the delights of this and every day, we say ‘thanks!’ For the nourishment of our spirit, the challenges that strengthen us, and the friends we have on the journey, we sing ‘thanks!’ For all that is our lives, for these good gifts, we whisper, ‘thanks!’ Overflowing with gratitude, let us shout, ‘thanks!’” May it be so and Amen.
Blessings to you all, Rev. Rita