Thursday, October 7th
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God spoke: “Let us make human beings in our image, make them
reflecting our nature
So they can be responsible for the fish in the sea,
the birds in the air, the cattle,
And, yes, Earth itself,
and every animal that moves on the face of Earth.”
God created human beings;
he created them godlike,
Reflecting God’s nature.
He created them male and female.
God blessed them:
Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.’”
—Genesis 1:26-28 The Message
Thanksgiving – a time to pause and thank God for all the gifts of the earth that feed and sustain us. A time to praise God for the marvellous gift of creation itself; the grace and beauty that feeds our souls and our imaginations. A time to remember that we are part of a larger web of life, each dependent upon the other. A time to remember God’s command that we humans are created to be stewards for God’s beautiful creation and in return God will care for us feeding not only our bodies, but also our soul and spirit. This meditation offers you a variety of ways to reflect and express gratitude:
A New Creed states,
We are not alone,
we live in God’s world.
We believe in God:
who has created and is creating….
We are called to be the Church…
to live with respect in Creation….
—The United Church of Canada,
John Muir, 19th century Scottish-American naturalist writes:
“Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.”
The earth upon which we live is pure grace. Its seasons and sunsets; its smells and sounds; the rivers and oceans and streams and puddles. Grace – gifts of God.”
A Song of Faith states,
God is creative and self-giving,
generously moving
in all the near and distant corners of the universe.
Nothing exists that does not find its source in God.
Our first response to God’s providence is gratitude.
We sing thanksgiving.
Finding ourselves in a world of beauty and mystery,
of living things, diverse and interdependent,
of complex patterns of growth and evolution,
of subatomic particles and cosmic swirls,
we sing of God the Creator,
the Maker and Source of all that is.
Each part of creation reveals unique aspects of God the Creator,
who is both in creation and beyond it.
All parts of creation, animate and inanimate, are related.
All creation is good.
We sing of the Creator,
who made humans to live and move
and have their being in God…
In grateful response to God’s abundant love,
we bear in mind our integral connection
to the earth and one another;
we participate in God’s work of healing and mending creation.
—A Song of Faith: A Statement of Faith of The United Church of Canada, 2006
What is the opposite of thanks or gratitude? Taking for granted. Forgetfulness. Taking and not giving back. Receiving and refusing to give or give back. Taking but not returning blessing for blessing and goodness for goodness. Taking, not care-taking. Earth is a place of goodness that requires our tending and caring for and not taking for granted. That is why climate change is so demanding a spiritual challenge and requires the best of all of us to respond to it.
Act of Thanksgiving
We are thankful for the passion of the children and youth among us who push us to recognize the urgency of the environmental crisis. Please pray for the youth at KSS who on Fridays stand up for creation at the Qualicum town square recognizing young people may be inheriting a world that might not be livable.
Thank you, Creator and giver of passion.
We are thankful for the wisdom of the aged among us who remind us of what it means to respect the earth and to live in community with one another. Please pray for the world leaders, political and religious, scientists, environmentalist who will meet in November in Glasgow for UN Climate Change Conference (COP26)
Thank you, Creator and giver of wisdom.
We are thankful for the insights of the native brothers and sisters among us who draw on their tradition and teach us about the sacredness of all creation and how to live in kinship with it.
Thank you, Creator and giver of insight.
We are thankful for the inspiration of those among us who have already begun to live their lives in ways that show a caring for the earth, water, and the skies.
Thank you, Creator and giver of inspiration.
Offer your own thanksgivings ……
Thank you, God, for all signs of hope that keep us from despairing and point us toward new ways of living.
A closing prayer for this Thanksgiving week:
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ,
who in your self-emptying love
gathered up and reconciled all creation to you.
Innumerable galaxies of the heavens worship you.
Creatures that grace the earth rejoice in you.
All those in the deepest seas bow to you in adoration.
As with them we give you thanks,
grant that we may cherish the earth,
our home,
and live in harmony with this good creation.
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.