leadinginworship

Stumbling Towards Thanksgiving: Congregational Pandemic Prayer

God, in this hard year, we’re stumbling towards Thanksgiving.
There has been lots to trip us up;
a pandemic, economic meltdowns, social isolation,
injustice on so many fronts: #BlackLivesMatter, #MeToo,
and the ongoing call for justice for indigenous peoples.
Not to mention hurricanes, forest fires and climate change…
and this is not even including the everyday sorrows
that haven’t let up for one minute!
We wouldn’t wish this year on anyone!
And so on this Thanksgiving, we stumble on the words,
and we need to take some deep breaths now to pause
and consider what we are thankful for…  [ pause ]
We do have things to be thankful for.
Thank you for life, for bringing us here this far.
Thank you for those who have sacrificed to help others;
health care and essential workers, teachers,
and everyone who has toiled overtime to make a difference.
Thank you for your provision;
the good earth has yielded up its bounty,
and there is food in grocery stores,
even if we sometimes do have to line up for it.
Thank you that this fall season still delights:
the taste of the crisp delicious apple,
the gold of grain pouring out of the combine,
the fragrance of the damp leaves,
the sound of geese honking their way south,
the feel of cool wind and the sun still warm on our skin.
God of hope, we need your help to get through the coming year.
Help us find a vaccine:
we need it soon,
we need it for everyone,
and we need it to work.
In the meantime, help our communities pull together;
forgive us when we are irritated and judgmental
of the choices other people are making.
Give us all patience as we wash our hands for the millionth time,
as we mask up, as we make hard choices not to mingle and socialize in person.
On this Thanksgiving day, we set our eyes on Christmas,
The world is waiting desperately for an angelic message
of good tidings of great joy for all people.
We are waiting for you to be born again,
born again in this pandemic year, born again in our hearts, in our world.
We know you are coming, and so on Thanksgiving
we pray with thanksgiving, in Jesus’s name, Amen

Glory to God for Autumn Congregational Prayer

Glory be to God for autumn things!
For the green world changing colour;
golden, crimson, amber, rust.
For baskets of glorious apples:
delicious, ambrosia, russet, spy.
For the grain tumbling out of the combine,
the pumpkins filling the field,
for round bales of hay weighing down wagons.
And then the crisp fall breezes bringing clouds
heavy with rain, hinting of snows to come.
We come with thanksgiving for the rich blessing of the harvest,
and the work of the farmers who produced it.
God, this is a year where we take nothing for granted;
thank you for food on the table, secure food supply lines
and stable governments, for universal health-care
and a medical system that mostly works.
In this pandemic year, life has been hard for everyone,
but for some it’s harder than others.
We lift prayers for people who are grieving;
grieving the loss of loved ones, or the loss of jobs or businesses,
the loss of freedom to be with family or to travel.
We pray for health and an end to this pandemic.
God, we pray for a vaccine!  We need it soon,
we need it for everyone, and we need it to work.
In the meantime, help us look carefully at who we are.
We want to hold onto your values of love and justice;
watching to see where our own actions are racist,
where our own structures perpetuate inequality and injustice.
We thank you for the freedom we have to choose our government.
Guide our leaders who are making big decisions about the pandemic,
big decisions about our changing climate, and about our use of fossil fuels,
decisions that will have implications for generations.
As a community of faith, we put our trust in you.
You oversaw the ice ages, and the great move of continental plates.
Creatures came and went with time, known only by you.
Who are we, for you to notice us?
And yet, you hear our prayer. Your love is all around us.
Creation pours forth beauty every day.
You sent a saviour with a special delivery salvation message,
and a spirit who breathes hope into us even in times like these.
In the power of the Spirit, and in the name of Jesus,
our community praises you, now and always. Amen

Confession on Thanksgiving

We confess that we sometimes forget how to say thank you;
         we get used to saying, “I earned this,”
          thinking we have only ourselves to thank. 
We confess that we are sometimes too jealous to be thankful;
          we compare ourselves to others who have more, “Why do they get everything?”
          and we rarely compare ourselves to those who have less.
We confess that we are sometimes too busy to be thankful;
          we asked ourselves this morning, “Do I have time to go to church?”
          and even in worship we are thinking about our to-do lists.
 We confess that we are sometimes grudgingly thankful;
          saying, “I guess this will have to do,”
          while believing that God has given us a raw deal.
We confess that sometimes we are too tired to be thankful,
          as we sigh, “I just want to get through this day,”
          having no energy to open our eyes to the blessings around us.
We confess that sometimes we are not thankful enough to be generous;
          we bargain with God, “I’ll be unselfish when you give me more,”
          rather than being generous today.
We confess that sometimes we are barely thankful;
          we say the words, but don’t feel grateful in our hearts,
            knowing “I don’t know how to be really thankful.”
And so today we pray a simple prayer.
For what we have received, Lord,
make us truly thankful. 
We want to be filled today with thanksgiving. Amen.

Thanksgiving Prayer in Times Likes These

Thank you, Lord, for your care for all creation.
You watch over the sun, whose rays warm us,
you order the moon, whose light silvers the night.
The seasons follow your guidance,
and we give thanks for farmers and their harvests;
for the last combines collecting the crops,
for golden stubble fields stretched out for a long rest.
Even as food is collected and stored,
we are mindful of places where food is hard to find;
the rains didn’t come, and the plants didn’t grow,
or hurricane winds blew the harvest away.
Open our hearts to share nature’s bounty
with all your children who are in need.
Thank you for your care for us,
for the way you bring people into our lives to love us.
Thank you for families, for friends, for our church community,
offering love and support.
You know that we care for each other,
yet we confess that we love imperfectly, sometimes grudgingly,
sometimes with only half a heart.
Give us the courage to apologize when apologies are necessary,
and to try to do our best, modeling ourselves on Jesus Christ,
who gave his whole life in service to others.
Knowing your care for us,
we are confident as we lift up those we love who are grieving,
or who face health challenges of various kinds.
We pray for newcomers to country, seeking a new home.
Where there is sorrow, bring your comfort,
and a renewed belief that the world is a safe place for them.
We all long for safety, especially in times like these.
Where there is violence, we need your peace,
where there is instability, your calming presence,
where there is hatred, your abundant love,
where there is suspicion and fear, your assurance.
God of great gifts, we long for a harvest of righteousness;
equip us as your church to be agents of your kingdom,
ambassadors of hope, even in such a time as this.
In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Thanksgiving prayer for farmers

Thank you, God, for farmers!
For those people who have touched the soil,
who have known it intimately,
the feel of it in their fingernails,
the taste of it, the way it smells after the rain.
For those who have cared for animals,
touched them, heard their cries,
nurtured them carefully.
Being a farmer can be a hard life,
the bills don’t match the income,
the weather doesn’t co-operate
or the markets are fickle.
Be with farmers, Lord,
and particularly the farming families in our church,
in hard times as well as good.
Help us to create a society where farmers are respected,
and compensated for their work fairly.
Help us to personally be thankful for their work,
that sustains us in the most basic way possible.

We pray for farmers and communities around the world
where the rain did not come,
or the rain came too hard, or too late,
for those whose soil is depleted,
or who cannot afford the cost of production.
So many in the world are hungry today
because of a poor or non-existent harvest,
 or because war interrupted the harvest.
Open the hearts of the world, open our hearts,
to be generous, to share the bounty that you give us.

All of our farming relies on the good earth,
and we pray for the earth today too.
Help us take care of it, help us cherish it,
help us pass it on, safely, to a new generation.
Guide our governments to make wise decisions regarding the earth.
Particularly we pray for our Canadian politicians,
that you would open their eyes to the long term health of our rich land,
giving them the courage to make decisions that will benefit
Canadians a hundred years from now.

We are so thankful for the beautiful home you provide for us,
for Niagara, rich in soil and generous in weather,
a garden of delights for us who live here.
It’s your gift, and we thank you for it.
Amen.

Thanksgiving call to worship

This morning, Lord,
we want everything to be for your glory.
We want our thoughts,
our words, our songs,
our church, our community,
our resources, our time, our lives:
all to be for you.
Everything ours is yours,
and we come together to declare this to be so,
on this holy day of thanksgiving.
Bless our time together with your holy presence,
Amen.

Thanksgiving Responsive Communion Service

Leader:  light print            People:  dark print

We come to this table with thankful hearts.
Why do we give thanks at this table?
We give thanks because God has invited us here!
All God’s children are invited to the Lord’s supper.
We come humbly to the table,
knowing that we have not earned our way here,
but are invited, guests at this feast of love. 

Why do we eat at this table?
We eat at this table to remember
that on the night before Jesus died, he ate with his friends.
Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it,
he broke it and gave it to them saying,
“Take, eat.  This is my body given for you.
Each time you do this, remember me.”

Let's pray:  God of grace,
give us repentant hearts, forgiving hearts, clean hearts.
With thanksgiving we come to your table.
Send your Spirit upon us so that we know
that all who eat and drink in this room and around the world
are one body, one holy people,
giving thanks to you in an endless song of praise.
Thanks be to you Lord Jesus Christ,
who gave your life freely for our salvation.

[the bread is broken and distributed and eaten]

We take the cup with thankful hearts.
Why do we take the cup at this table?
We drink because that same night Jesus also took a cup,
and after giving thanks,
passed it to his friends saying,  "Drink this cup.
This cup, poured out for you, is the promise of God.
Whenever you drink it, remember me.”
Thanks  be to you Lord Jesus Christ,
who  gave your life freely for our salvation.

Our presence at this communion table is a sign.
Here  we remember the gift that is Jesus;
the gift of his  birth, his life and his death on the cross.
At this table we celebrate Christ’s resurrection.
We remember that we are waiting in hope to see Jesus again.

[the cup is distributed, we  drink together]

Let us pray together:
Thank you for inviting us to this banquet!
Help us to remember the gift we have received
and to live as brothers and sisters,
members of one family.
All praise to you Lord Jesus Christ!

Thanksgiving offering prayer

Before the offering:
We worship a generous God
whose son Jesus was both a gift and great giver.
As followers of Jesus
we find our deepest joy in giving,
and that’s why we give this offering cheerfully! 

After the offering:
May the words of our mouths
and the meditations of our hearts
and the giving of this offering
all show our thankfulness to you,
O God our Rock and our Redeemer.

Responsive call to worship for Thanksgiving

The world is filled with the glory of God, and we say,
Thank you!
The hills and valleys are filled with colour, and we say,
Thank you!
The vines and trees are filled with fruit, and we say,
Thank you!
Because we have food to put on the table, we say,
Thank you!
Because we have this community that loves us, we say,
Thank you!
We fill this house of God with our voices, saying,
Thank you!
May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts
be acceptable to you, O God,
as we enter into this service of thanksgiving and praise.

[I asked the congregation to say "Thank you!" whenever I raised my hand. This need not be printed or projected.]

Thanksgiving revolution

God, on this Thanksgiving we know enough to give thanks.
Our prayers often begin, “Thank you God for…”
and then we make a list.
The list is longer today, because it’s thanksgiving. 

But what if thankfulness has nothing to do with lists?
What if thankfulness is more like the difference between night and day,
the difference between being shut in and being free,
the difference between holding on and reaching out?
What if thankfulness is not something to be grasped,
not something that can be simply said,
not some thing at all?

What if thankfulness is transformation?
A Copernican revolution of the heart,
a re-centering, from our selves to your Son.
A blossoming, from bud to flower,
all the way to the ripe red apple.
A movement from life to death,
and beyond the grave to resurrection.
What if Thanksgiving is Christmas, Good Friday
and Easter all rolled into one?
When we are tempted to simply list our thanks,
or give our thanks,
show us the wider horizon,
where we are the extravagant gesture,
pressed down, shaken together, running over--
thankful people made in your image.

Thanksgiving grace

We are people with full hearts:
we feel blessed, we are blessed,
and on this thanksgiving day we say thank you with all our hearts.
Thank you for your love, and for the gift of your son.
Thank you for those dear to us, those near at hand,
and those much farther away.
Thank you for food.
Thank you for rich soil, good weather, hard-working farmers.
In a society where we are so often
self-sufficient, self reliant and self-satisfied,
give us humble hearts.
All we are and all we have comes from your hand;
it’s by your grace that we have life and breath
on this thanksgiving day.
Bless the hands that have prepared the food,
and those who are serving it.
Bless the food before us,
may it strengthen us to be a blessing to all we meet,
in the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

Thanksgiving Prayer: Confession

For what we are about to receive,

may the Lord make us truly thankful.

We pray today for all who are too jealous to be thankful,

          who complain, “Why do they get everything?”

          and who are always comparing themselves with those who have more.

 We pray for all who have forgotten how to say thank you;

         who have gotten used to saying, “I earned this,”

          and who truly feel they have only themselves to thank. 

We pray for all who are too busy to be thankful;

          who asked themselves this morning, “Do I have time to go to church?”

          and who even in worship are thinking about their to-do lists.
 We pray for all who are grudgingly thankful;

          who say, “I guess this will have to do,”

          while believing that God has given them a raw deal.

We pray for all who are too tired to be thankful,

          who sigh, “I just want to get through this day,”

          and who have no energy to open their eyes to the blessings around them.

We pray for all who are not thankful enough to be generous,

          who bargain with God, “I’ll be unselfish when you give me more,”

          or who are stingy in spending time with others.

We pray for all who are barely thankful;

          who say the words, but don’t feel grateful in their hearts

          who go through the motions, but think,

          “I don’t know how to be really thankful.”

Today we pray a simple prayer.

For what we have received, Lord,

make us truly thankful.  Amen.

humble thanks

For all that I put in my body

every morsel, crumb, piece

every tidbit, chunk, mouthful

food in all its delight

something solid, an apple

changed, who knows how,

into the swinging of an arm

into my body bending, leaping.

the earth’s rich harvest

fodder for the body’s slow burn

 

for hunger, the quiet gnawing:

the blood talking to the brain

talking to the stomach,

the need for food,

the insistence of this wanting.

created to be like this,

desiring what we cannot live without

 

God of grocery stores and markets

God of farms and fields

God of tables and silverware

God you Great Provider

each day my body meets you

in tabletop worship.

humble thanks to a God who has food for life

for my body’s deepest hunger