It’s hard to believe that the Thanksgiving season is upon us already and in a few weeks we’ll all be gathered around tables and celebrating with our family and friends. My family has a tradition, as perhaps yours does too, of going around the dinner table and sharing one thing we’re thankful for. Every year, the answers vary from “grandma’s cooking” to “family” or “friends.” Sometimes the answers go a little deeper, and sometimes they stay on the surface. Either way, we practice as a family being grateful for the gifts God has given us.
This year, we plan to do this together as a church family! In years past our Thanksgiving Service has always been on the Tuesday night before Thanksgiving. This year we have moved it to the Sunday morning before Thanksgiving to include more of our church family. Therefore, you and your family are invited to join us on November 19 for our annual Service of Thanksgiving during our regular worship time at 10:30am!
There are always many moving parts to this service, but I’m most excited about our three testimonies from Reba and Mark Kinder, Angie Pendley, and Brit Teninty and Denise Senesac. God’s going to use their stories to inspire and transform us as we share in their gratefulness for the God’s goodness in their own lives. In addition to their testimonies, we’ll have a time to reflect on our own thankfulness, time to worship in song, and time to worship through giving and praying for Covenant World Relief.
Psalm 106:1 says “Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his love endures forever.” I love that the psalmist begins this psalm with these words. If you read on, the psalmist continues in prayer and worship after expressing their thankfulness.
Thankfulness is part of what drives our transformation. When we begin our worship with gratitude (giving thanks with our whole hearts for the grace God has given us, and the relationship available to us with God) we enter into a deeper place of worship. We experience a deeper relationship with God and the Holy Spirit. This is my prayer as we enter into this years' Service of Thanksgiving. I pray we come ready to celebrate God’s goodness to us over the last year and give thanks wholeheartedly as we worship in Spirit and in truth.
To add on to the celebratory theme of the day, we will be hosting a Soup Lunch and Dessert Auction Fundraiser to support our youth as they raise funds for the Unite conference happening this coming July. We can’t wait to spend this time in community with you for lunch, and also support our youth with the fundraiser afterwards. See you there!
Service of Thanksgiving, followed by a Soup Lunch and Dessert Auction
Sunday, November 19
10:30am Service
12:00pm Soup Lunch and Auction