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Thank God for blessings by taking action
BOARDMAN — It’s that season. Some people are focusing on who’s hosting Thanksgiving dinner and others are planning to volunteer to serve free dinners to the needy.
In the United States, there’s a long history of giving thanks. The first recorded Thanksgiving ceremony was Sept. 8, 1565, when Spanish settlers landed at St. Augustine, Fla., and had a Mass of thanksgiving.
Of course, it’s the Pilgrims at Plymouth and their harvest in 1621 that comes to mind for most Americans when it comes to Thanksgiving.
But credit President George Washington for the proclamation declaring the first Thanksgiving Day in 1789. The document read, in part, “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”
President Abraham Lincoln suggested a national Thanksgiving Day be celebrated on the last Thursday in November 1863, and that became an annual event. Part of the document reads, “The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.”
In 1941, the U.S. Congress required that Thanksgiving be observed annually on the fourth Thursday of November, which was sometimes the last Thursday. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the bill Dec. 26, for the first time making the date of Thanksgiving a matter of federal law.
Long before any legislation, the Bible has been a source of many passages about being thankful and giving thanks.
“It’s a time to focus on what concrete thing, what action have I taken to express my gratefulness to God, family and neighbors for the good in my life,” said the Rev. Kelly Marshall, rector of St. James’ Episcopal Church, 7640 Glenwood Ave. “At the least, will I take a concrete action to say thank you and at the most, will I share a good thing.”
The pastor said this is the season to “reflect on our blessings in life.” And, he said, saying thanks to God could take the form of “donating time, energy and resources” to those who aren’t so fortunate. “The faith community helps people reflect on what is truly important in life.”
On Thanksgiving Day, Father Marshall said, it’s expected to express thanks. “But shouldn’t we make a lifelong and daily practice to give thanks,” he pondered.
“Living in a thankful way probably will make us appreciate the good that has come to us. Having a sense of reflecting on the good things in our lives is part of the Christian and Jewish heritage,” Father Marshall said. “If we never take the time to reflect, we tend not to reach out.” He said reflection may help people see the bounty that they have and “become more concerned about the needs of others and less selfish.”
He said a prayer of daily thanks brings our blessings into focus.
Father Marshall said the Episcopal Church has a United Thank Offering, spearheaded by Episcopal women, and described it as a “small discipline” of a donation along with a prayer of thanks. He pointed out individual donations combine into one, which is used to benefit people in need. “People of faith see this as something they can do to help because they live in a blessed society,” he said.
Father Marshall acknowledged that the “economy is anxiety-producing” for everyone. But, he noted, the most vulnerable in society suffer the most at these times. “For people who need food, it is challenging to see blessings,” he said. He noted that for the many people who buy their morning coffee treat and fill the gas tank, life has hit a few bumps, but they still have the means to pay. “We need to take concrete acts of gratitude and help those who have less,” he said.
He and Barbara Wigle, a church member, are involved in presentations of what the church calls Super Saturdays geared to participants from kindergarten through sixth grade. After Thanksgiving and Christmas, the church is planning a Super Saturday in January on “Learning to be Grateful and Thankful and Showing It by Being Generous.” Wigle said the program was inspired by the book, “Grateful: A Song of Giving Thanks” by John Bucchino from the Julie Andrews Collection.
Wigle said a Super Saturday in June on Prince Caspian was “very successful” and she’s anticipating a good turnout for the next event. Wigle assisted at Sunday school at St. Luke Episcopal Church in Niles, where her husband, the Rev. John Wigle, was the interim pastor.
“If we have God with us, it helps us take what life dishes out,” Wigle said. “Children develop a positive attitude toward life and understand what it means to be grateful.”
Wigle said she sees the program as an “opportunity to teach children about being grateful.” She said biblical stories such as the story of 10 lepers who were cured by Jesus but only one thought to thank his benefactor and the idea of God’s giving his only son to the world are good ways to illustrate gratefulness to children.
“I think children are generous by nature,” Wigle said. “When we talk about those stories, we’ll discuss what God might want them to do. I think it will cause them to think and act differently.”
Wigle noted that children hear about missions at church, and understand that some people are in need. “I do believe that children need to be taught about generosity and gratitude,” she said.
Wigle noted that parents’ example of living the Christian faith ... expressing gratitude and helping the needy ... shapes their children’s behavior.