Thanksgiving Grace for Families
Thanksgiving Grace
Spirit of life, source of creation and mystery,
We give thanks for the friends and family gathered around us today,
For the food which nourishes our bodies, and those who prepared it,
Remembering the history of this land and the people who were stewards of it over the years,
We ask for your help in guiding us into a sustainable future,
Enabling us to have what we need to care for ourselves,
While living in harmony with those around us.
We are grateful for the love and compassion shown by members of this community,
And pray that we can find the means to enhance the joy and well-being of those who are hurting in today’s world.
Amen
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This grace is shared with you to help you know how to respond if you find yourself at a family or community gathering with persons of various religious backgrounds and you are asked to say grace. These words are to get you started in thinking about what you are thankful for and what your hopes are for the future. Feel free to change the words to fit your circumstances, but remember that most of us are both thankful for the good things in our life but also concerned about the suffering and challenges of the world around us.
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There are a couple reasons for this post. First, it gives me a chance to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving Month and to ask you to take a look at my previous post: Holiday Letter - 2023. Because the Holiday Letter contained an unusual number of photos some e-mail servers blocked it from delivery to my subscribers. I’m not sure how many. I believe that the link will work as an alternate way to view that post.
Second, it gives me a chance to share with you that the biggest draw of my blog in recent months has been my post of Chalice Lighting Words. This has been a surprise to me. There must be a lot of Unitarian Universalists looking for worship and small group resources, and Google has decided to share my materials with them. In case that subject is of interest to you, here are some other blog posts from me related to Unitarian Universalism:
A Covenant for Religious Community - words you can insert into your own worship service or which you can use as a prompt for writing your own covenant for your congregation or small group.
Chalice Extinguishing Words - As you close your meeting or worship service, here are some words you might say as you get ready to leave for home.
This I Believe - I shared the story of my religious history in the hopes that others would share their own religious journey. Sharing stories helps us understand one another better and gives us a chance to learn from each other.
Not all my blog posts have comments enabled, but this one does, in case you want to let me know if you were able to access my Holiday Letter or in case you have comments about why my Chalice Lighting page seems to be especially popular.