O God to whom we belong, we celebrate this Thanksgiving Day by rejoicing in the abundance of your many blessings. We are thankful for all your gifts that make life meaningful and pleasurable: for love which binds us to one another in community, for passion that keeps us alive to the goodness of life, for compassion that opens our hearts to others.
We give thanks for the shelter of comfortable homes, for family and neighbors with whom we share precious space, and for vocational callings that put our unique gifts to good use. We are grateful for the church which brings us together for worship, to raise our voices to the music of the spheres, to enjoy Christian nurture among our congregation and to reach out in service to those in need.
Today, as we celebrate the uniquely American holiday of Thanksgiving, we pray for our country. We ask your guidance among our leaders who govern us, our allies with whom we share a common call to justice and all those who work to assure basic human needs for your children the world over. May the earliest Thanksgiving meals shared long ago on the shores of this young nation inspire in us again a peace that is won through cooperation and appreciation of human diversity.
As we feast around bountiful tables, we are mindful of those who have not enough to eat in our community, in our fair city and in the world. We pray for you to work miracles again of multiplying bread and enlisting us to share it. May our gatherings among family and friends be blessed by your presence so that we may be strengthened to serve you in all that we do as disciples of Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen.
