For Your Thanksgiving Table

The older we get, the more we tend to lean into the nostalgia that comes with remembering holidays past. That’s certainly the case for me. Memories of my early Christian nurture in a home where my dad was at the time a pastor in The Reformed Episcopal Church (now part of the Anglican Church in North America, or ACNA) has left me with a rich treasure chest of liturgical resources, including The Book of Common Prayer. This morning, I went into my copy of the ACNA Book of Common Prayer to remember and use a couple of Thanksgiving prayers, both of which I’m sharing here. Perhaps you will find these helpful for yourself individually or for family reflection on this Thanksgiving Day. And remember, keep the phones away from the table!

A Litany of Thanksgiving

Let us give thanks to God our Father for all his gifts so freely bestowed upon us: For the beauty and wonder of your creation, in earth and sky and sea,
We thank you, Lord.

For our daily food and drink, our homes and families, and our friends,
We thank you, Lord.

For minds to think, and hearts to love, and hands to serve,
We thank you, Lord.

For health and strength to work, and time to rest and worship,
We thank you, Lord.

For all who are patient in suffering and faithful in adversity,
We thank you, Lord.

For all who earnestly seek after truth, and all who labor for justice,
We thank you, Lord.

For all that is good and gracious in the lives of men and women, revealing the image of Christ,
We thank you, Lord.

For the communion of saints, in all times and places,
We thank you, Lord.

Above all, we give you thanks for the great mercies and promises given to us in Christ Jesus our Lord;
To him be praise and glory, with you, O Father, and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.

A Thanksgiving Prayer

Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love. We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for the loving care which surrounds us on every side. We thank you for setting us at tasks that demand our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments that satisfy and delight us. We thank you also for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone. Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying, through which he conquered death; and for his rising to life again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom. Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know Christ and make him known; and through him, at all times and in all places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.