PART 1: “SEASON OF GRATITUDE”

November is traditionally the month in our culture that we focus on giving thanks to our living God, the giver of all life. Originally, Thanksgiving Day was set aside as one day for us to pause & express our gratitude to God, for all He is to us & for all the rich beauty & bounty of the earth He has blessed us with. However, as time has gone by, it would seem as though to some extent, the awareness & expression of the goodness of God & in some cases even the existence of God, has faded to the point that Thanksgiving Day has become primarily a day of partying & feasting absent of gratitude & grace. The imperative to rejoice & give thanks in an attitude of thanksgiving are the two most frequently stated imperatives in the Holy Bible.

The fact is, every day should be as day of thanksgiving. We share our joy & gratitude for God’s many gifts & blessings by offering up our prayers of thanks & praise, our gifts, our graces & ourselves to God in service & in song, always reflecting His Light to the world. Everything we do, every decision we make, every interaction we engage in should, in one way or another, radiate an “Alleluia” to God, for without God we would have nothing. As God’s people called to be living doxologies in this life that we have been & so graciously blessed to be part of, let us go forward then, not only one day out of the year but every day, with a renewed sense of gratitude & praise to God the Giver of all life.

Included in this writing are selections from written Hymns that reflect praise & thanksgiving to God the giver of all life:

Let All Things Now Living

“Let all things now living A song of thanksgiving

To God our Creator triumphantly raise;

Who fashioned & made us, Protected & stayed us,

By guiding us onto the end of our days.

God’s banners are o’er us, Pure light goes before us,

A pillar of fire shining forth in the night;

Till shadows have vanished ,

All fearfulness banished,

As forward we travel from light into Light.”

O God, Our Help in Ages Past

“O God, our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come,

Our shelter from the stormy blast, & our eternal home!

Before the hills in order stood, Our earth received her frame.

From ever-lasting Thou art God, To endless years the same.

O God our help in ages past, Our hope for years to come,

Be thou our guide while life shall last, & our eternal home.”

~Posted by Rev Kathryn Bindig, MDiv. MS; Pastoral Care Minister with assistance from Rich Muscatello; Director of Business Development & Strategy