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phone-in for (audio only). Phone Number: (646) 558-8656
Meeting ID: 825 1215 9155
Welcome and Opening Prayer:
Good morning, everyone. We are so grateful to be here with you all online or on Zoom. Welcome to this Thanksgiving Service from the Upper Room. We will be keeping to less than 30 minutes so that you can head back to your busy day.
Gratefulness has many derivations and is rooted in the Latin word, gratia, which translates to grace. How apropos then that some health studies point to a happier life when we practice gratitude regularly. (See Harvard Health Publishing, August 14, 2021).
As we quiet our minds to be here, let’s take a deep breath, feet on the floor, and remember our blessings…
Blessings, by Hollow Cove. https://youtu.be/KY7rwjFmNfs
♪ Sunlight fell and reminded me ♪
♪ That life can be so gracious sometimes ♪
♪ And I felt like everything ♪
♪ Around me was connected somehow ♪ ♪ Ooh ooh ooh ooh ♪
♪ At night I hear the rhythm of the ocean ♪
♪ As it breaks on the shore ♪
♪ And I think about all the things ♪
♪ That I am grateful for ♪
♪ And they say, hold on to the ones you love ♪
♪ Keep ‘em close to you ♪
♪ And they say, hold on to this time we have ♪
♪ And let the light shine through ♪
♪ Sometimes I get a little bit emotional ♪
♪ When I see love unfold ♪
♪ Two hearts bound by reflections ♪
♪ Of the memories they’ll forever hold ♪
♪ And they say, hold on to the ones you love ♪
♪ Keep ’em close to you ♪
♪ And they say, hold on to this time we have ♪
♪ And let the light shine through ♪
♪ Ooh ooh ooh ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh ooh ooh ♪
♪ Ooh ooh ooh ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh ooh ooh ♪
♪ There are blessings all around you ♪
♪ Open up your eyes ♪
♪ Feel the sunlight fall upon you ♪
♪ Let it free your mind ♪
♪ There are blessings all around you ♪
♪ Take a step outside ♪
♪ Let your heart shine in a new light ♪
♪ See it come alive ♪
♪ They say, hold on to the ones you love ♪
♪ Keep ‘em close to you ♪
♪ They say, hold on to this time we have ♪
♪ And let the light shine through ♪
Our First Reading is a poem from Mary Oliver
The Sun
Have you ever seen
anything
in your life
more wonderful
than the way the sun,
every evening,
relaxed and easy,
floats towards the horizon
and into the clouds or the hills,
or the rumpled sea,
and is gone ---
and how it slides again
out of the blackness,
every morning,
on the other side of the world,
like a red flower
streaming upward on its heavenly oils,
say, on a morning and early summer,
at its perfect imperial distance ---
and have you ever felt for anything
such wild love---
do you think there was anywhere, in any language,
a word billowing enough
for the pleasure
that fills you,
as the sun
reaches out,
as it warms you
as you stand there,
empty-handed---
or have you too
turned from this world---
or have you too
gone crazy
for power,
for things?
Alleluia: Deb
Our Gospel Reading is from Luke, (17:11-19) (Steve)
On the way to Jerusalem Jesus passed between Samaria and Galilee.
As he was entering a village, ten people with virulent skin disease met him. Standing still, some distance off, they called out loudly: “Jesus! Master! Pity us!”
When Jesus saw them, he said: “Go and show yourselves to the priest.” And, as they were on their way, they were made clean.
One of them, finding he was healed, came back, praising God loudly, and threw himself on his face at Jesus’s feet, thanking him for what he had done; and this man was a Samaritan.
“Were not all the ten made clean?” exclaimed Jesus. “But the nine—where are they? Were there none to come back and praise God except this foreigner?
Get up,” he said to him, “and go on your way. Your confidence has delivered you.”
These are the words attributed to Luke, and we affirm them by saying, AMEN. (as shared in the New New Testament compiled by Hal Taussig)
Short Homily Reflection (Deb):
I used to have trouble coming up with things to be grateful for. I am not sure why that would be so, because now I can’t imagine not walking in gratitude every minute. One of my spiritual directors gently suggested that I bring gratitude to the forefront by going through the alphabet and finding one thing for each letter! It was a great exercise for me, and just what I needed to prime my soul for the grace of awareness. Jesus knew this so well and tried to help us understand how important saying thank you really is.
Since a shared homily today may send us over our limits, I ask you to take some time on your own, or with your friends and family, to say Thank you, and to say how much you love and appreciate each other. Remember the many blessings we are always given, often without even being aware of the effects, like the energy and warmth of the sun and the Holy One Who sustains us.
Happy Thanksgiving.
May we have a moment of silence as we think of our intentions and prepare for our day.
Prayer of Jesus (adapted by Miriam Therese Winters)
O Holy One, who is within, around and among us.
We celebrate your many names.
Your Wisdom Come. Your will be done,
Unfolding from the depths within us.
Each day you give us all that we need.
You remind us of our limits, and we let go.
You support us in our power, and we act with courage.
For you are the dwelling place within us,
The empowerment around us,
And the celebration among us,
Now and forever. Amen.
Closing Blessing:
May we each remember our many blessings as we go through this Thanksgiving Day and through the year.
May our lives reflect our awareness of the amazing gifts we receive just by being here on this planet and with each other.
May we continue to always share the blessings we have with those around us since we know that everything is holy now. Peace.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Everything is Holy Now sung by Peter Mayer
When I was a boy, each week
On Sunday, we would go to church
And pay attention to the priest
He would read the holy word
And consecrate the holy bread
And everyone would kneel and bow
Today the only difference is
Everything is holy now
Everything, everything
Everything is holy now
When I was in Sunday school
We would learn about the time
Moses split the sea in two
Jesus made the water wine
And I remember feeling sad
That miracles don't happen still
But now I can't keep track
'Cause everything's a miracle
Everything, Everything
Everything's a miracle
Wine from water is not so small
But an even better magic trick
Is that anything is here at all
So the challenging thing becomes
Not to look for miracles
But finding where there isn't one
When holy water was rare at best
It barely wet my fingertips
But now I have to hold my breath
Like I'm swimming in a sea of it
It used to be a world half there
Heaven's second rate hand-me-down
But I walk it with a reverent air
'Cause everything is holy now
Everything, everything
Everything is holy now
Read a questioning child's face
And say it's not a testament
That'd be very hard to say
See another new morning come
And say it's not a sacrament
I tell you that it can't be done
This morning, outside I stood
And saw a little red-winged bird
Shining like a burning bush
Singing like a scripture verse
It made me want to bow my head
I remember when church let out
How things have changed since then
Everything is holy now
It used to be a world half-there
Heaven's second rate hand-me-down
But I walk it with a reverent air
'Cause everything is holy now.
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