Thanksgiving

A few of us met after church last Sunday to talk about our Advent liturgy. We change the service music and prayers each season to highlight particular theological themes, and also to help our best loved prayers to stay fresh in our minds. This fall we’ve used a set of prayers of the people written by parishioner Paula Tatarunis; this Advent, we’ll use a set from the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, written by the Rev. Susanne Watson Epting. For our Confession and Post Communion Prayer, we’ll use prayers from the Anglican Church in New Zealand. Our Eucharistic Prayer and the lyrics for the service music come from our own 1979 Book of Common Prayer, so there will still be plenty in the service that feels familiar. Reaching all the way back to Queen Elizabeth in the 16th Century and the beginnings of what we now call “Anglicanism,” we have talked about how the uniformity of our worship joins us together even amongst great differences. We are fortunate to be able to use prayers from our Anglican sisters and brothers on the other side of the globe. Stephen, our organist, has written us beautiful new settings for the season which will carry us through Epiphany. Please take a moment to visit his website, where he has kindly recorded the Gloria for us to practice before Sunday. We’ll also take a few minutes to practice right before the service. www.stephensikorski.com/christchurch Thank you, Stephen!

One of the lines from the post communion prayer has especially stayed with me, and seems very appropriate for Thanksgiving. The prayer concludes, “Accept, O God, our sacrifice of praise. Accept our thanks for all you have done. Our hands were empty, and you filled them. Amen, amen.” “Our hands were empty, and you filled them”—the Christian life is all about opening our hands. God freely gives us life, love, and grace. Even the tasks set before us are gifts from God. We are called to open our hands and give thanks. Sometimes life is difficult and chaotic. It doesn’t always feel like a gift. But even in those times, Christ is with us. Our Savior suffered, too. And sometimes, life is pure grace. The other morning, as Noah and I stumbled downstairs for breakfast (earlier than I would prefer, I have to admit), he with Isaiah in his arms and me with the dog, that line occurred to me. Quite literally, our arms have been filled!
As turn our attention to the holiday, please pray especially for those who are in difficulty this week. For the sick and the suffering, for those who are in conflict with their families and for those who are far from friends. May they be blessed and held in the embrace of our God who calls us each by name, and loves us with a boundless love. Have a happy Thanksgiving!