Thanksgiving Day Prayer

Praise is due to you,
O God….
You visit the earth and water it,
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
you provide the people with
grain,
for so you have prepared it.
You water its furrows
abundantly
settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.
You crown the year with your
bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow
with richness.
The pastures of the wilderness
overflow,
the hills gird themselves with
joy,
the meadows clothe themselves
with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves
with grain,
they shout and sing together
for joy.                    Psalm 65

 
Good and gracious God, our hearts are full to overflowing on this Thanksgiving Day.

We are grateful for the world our home; for the way it sustains us and all life; for the changing seasons, green springtime and lush summer giving way to the vivid colors of autumn and the snowy quiet of coming winter; for the earth’s amazing productivity, plentiful food, nutritious and delicious, bountiful corn and vegetables, ripe peaches and crisp apples, red tomatoes, all of it a gift from you.

We are grateful this day for brave Pilgrims who came to our shores seeking freedom to believe and worship, who planted crops in the rocky soil and built homes in the wilderness, for their profound faith in you and their trust in your providential care.

We are grateful for our nation, O God; for its noble ideals and high hopes, and for its people, this rich, colorful tapestry of races and religions, bound together by a common commitment to the ideas, which we believe come from you, of liberty and justice for all people.

Especially on this day we give you thanks for the precious gift of human love; for parents who birthed and nurtured us, for grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers and sisters near and far, who enrich our lives with laughter and love, and for the little ones, our dear children, for the miracle of their lives, their energy and laughter and easy affection. Bless them particularly, merciful God, and keep them in your care.

On this day, as we celebrate abundance and plenty, we remember and pray for those less fortunate; for the homeless poor, for people suffering the ravages of typhoon and tornado, for the sick and lonely and for those we know whose needs are urgent this Thanksgiving Day. Be with them, give them hope and courage and a sense of your compassionate presence. We pray for the men and women of our Armed Forces, separated from their loved ones, particularly those in harm’s way. Be with them and bless them and surround them with the love of their families and the gratitude of their nation.

And, merciful God, this most of all, we thank you for your love, for the gentle presence of your Spirit in our lives, and for the promise that nothing will ever separate us, and our dear ones, from you.

Hear these prayers which we offer in your Holy Name. Amen