Thanksgiving 2008
Dear Friends,
Like most people these days, when the food arrives on the table, I
just start eating. I don’t often pause to say a prayer of thanks to
some Creator God for all that is set before me. I have become so
used to this abundance, that I have little sense of the gift this
meal represents, and so I just tuck into the food. The brief grace
we used to say as children, has replaced has been replaced by ‘pass
the salt.’
This is not to say that you are I are not grateful for all that is
set before us. We often thank the cook for wonderful meal. But maybe
we feel embarrassed to pause and voice our thanks out loud to God
fearing someone will think us strange or overly religious.
When I am out for breakfast with my clergy friends or with our
Sutton Ecumenical Group, we always ask one of members to say grace
for us before we begin eating our bacon, eggs and toast. In a public
restaurant I am always conscious that we seem to be the only ones
saying grace before our meal. And I wonder what the other people are
thinking of us. Do they wonder what we’re up to? Are we some relic
of the past in their eyes? Does our prayer seem silly to them or do
we appear like people parading our religion in public?
Some great writer (I forget who) said that there is really only one
prayer, and that is ‘thank-you’. And that may be true. When all is
said and done, and you look back upon your life, what more do you
want to say than ‘thank-you’? Thank you for my family, for the ups
and downs of life, for the challenges and the comforts that came my
way, and for the moments of beauty and the times of grace.
Thank-you.
This ‘attitude of gratitude’ is probably something we need to
cultivate. Even though our lives are filled with material things,
our society hasn’t become more thankful. If anything, I find our
western culture has become more anxious and discontented. Looking
for happiness in all the wrong places, we have lost the sense of joy
and the gratitude that comes from living lightly and with
thanksgiving for the gifts of life.
Cultivating thankfulness changes us. By pausing to give thanks for
our food, or thanks at the end of our day or at the end of long
week, we recall the many blessings around us and are reminded of the
great abundance in our lives. Whereas, if we neglect to give thanks
or count our blessings, we become like those people who always see
fault in the world around them, who are never content with what they
have and who always fear that there is not enough to go around and
therefore they do not share.
As we take time to notice what we have already been given, we
realize how rich and gifted we are. We become more content with what
we have, and not anxious about those things we are being told we
must buy. This Thanksgiving, let’s find some more ways to cultivate
this sense of gratitude, so that our prayer may be one of thanks and
our lives an expression of thanksgiving for all that we have
received.
Please do join us for our Thanksgiving Service on Sunday, October
12th at 10:30 am. As usual Grace Church will be spectacularly
decorated with pumpkins, corn stalks, and all sorts of other harvest
vegetables. “Come and raise the harvest song!”
If you have a connection to the internet, please visit the new Web
Site for Grace Church at www.gracechurchsutton.org which is updated
frequently with photos of events.
Since our last newsletter (March ’08) we welcomed into the
Church through Holy Baptism: Jordan Caswell on June 22nd; Shyla
Morse on July 6th; and Rose Mercier on October 5th.
We celebrated the Weddings of Danielle Jacobs on Eric
Gauthier on July 5th; Rebecca Loadenthal and Michael Phelan on July
12th (at St. Paul d’Abbotsford); Crystal McCallum and Trevor
Rocheleau on August 23rd; and Tania de la Mare and Blair Cook on
Saturday, October 4th.
We committed to God’s everlasting care Gloria Mudgett O’Brien
on April 21st; James Rogers on May 10th; Margaret Carrie on May
17th; Lena Hudson on June 14th; Jean Darrah McCaw on June 21st;
Nason Page on June 23rd; George Judd on July 5th; Catherine Hazard
Davidson on July 16th.
“Rest eternal grant unto them O Lord, and let light perpetual shine
upon them.”
Upcoming Events
• Monday, October 20th, at 6 pm Deanery Chapter Meeting of Brome
Shefford. We will gather at St. Paul’s in Knowlton and after dinner,
discuss the upcoming Diocesan Synod. For clergy, wardens, synod
delegates and treasurers.
• Monday Morning Ecumenical Discussion Group. Join us for lively
conversation in a friendly atmosphere with coffee and muffins
provided. Every Monday morning from 11 am to 12:30 pm in the parish
hall. Currently we are discussing, “The Power of Myth”.
• Grace Church is pleased to host an Ecumenical OutMass: Celebrating
the Gifts of Gay and Lesbian People in our Churches and Communities;
on Saturday, November 1st at 3:00 pm. Our guest preacher is Canon
Joyce Sanchez of Christ Church Cathedral. Join us as we celebrate
the Eucharist together, and enjoy a reception in the parish hall
following the service. All people are welcome to participate. With
participation from the Anglican, Roman Catholic and United Churches
of Sutton.
• “For the Bible tells me so” An award-winning documentary film
featuring the voices of gay and lesbian people and the stories of
their parents who had to come to terms with their son or daughter
and their Christian beliefs. Come out for this free screening with
discussion to follow. Thursday, November 6th at 7pm at Grace Church
in the parish hall.
• Grace Church ACW Bazaar on Saturday, November 8th at 2 pm. Baked
goods and plum puddings, books and time for tea with your friends.
• Tuesday, November 11th at 11 am, Remembrance Day Service at the
Sutton Cenotaph followed by prayers and lunch at the Legion Hall.
On behalf of the churchwardens, Doreen Page and Terry O’Regan, we
wish you and your family a blessed Thanksgiving!
Grace Anglican Church, 52 Principale sud, Sutton, Quebec. JOE-2K0.
450-538-8108