Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving

Surely, it is God who saves me

Canticle 9 The First Song of Isaiah
Isaiah 12:2-6 Ecce, Deus

Surely, it is God who saves me; *
I will trust in him and not be afraid.

For the Lord is my stronghold and my sure defense, *
and he will be my Savior.

Therefore you shall draw water with rejoicing *
from the springs of salvation.

And on that day you shall say, *
Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his Name;

Make his deeds known among the peoples; *
see that they remember that his Name is exalted.

Sing the praises of the Lord, for he has done great things, *
and this is known in all the world.

Cry aloud, inhabitants of Zion, ring out your joy, *
for the great one in the midst of you is the Holy One of Israel.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Surely, it is God who saves me

Canticle 9 The First Song of Isaiah
Isaiah 12:2-6 Ecce, Deus

Surely, it is God who saves me; *
I will trust in him and not be afraid.

For the Lord is my stronghold and my sure defense, *
and he will be my Savior.

Therefore you shall draw water with rejoicing *
from the springs of salvation.

And on that day you shall say, *
Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his Name;

Make his deeds known among the peoples; *
see that they remember that his Name is exalted.

Sing the praises of the Lord, for he has done great things, *
and this is known in all the world.

Cry aloud, inhabitants of Zion, ring out your joy, *
for the great one in the midst of you is the Holy One of Israel.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

A Thanksgiving Proclamation

Washington, D.C.

October 3, 1863

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

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 the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln
William H. Seward,
Secretary of State

Happy Thanksgiving - "A Litany of Thanksgiving" and "A Good Day with David Steindl-Rast"

A Litany of Thanksgiving


Let us give thanks to God our Father for all his gifts so
freely bestowed upon us.
For the beauty and wonder of your creation, in earth and
sky and sea.
We thank you, Lord.

For all that is gracious in the lives of men and women,
revealing the image of Christ,
We thank you, Lord.

For our daily food and drink, our homes and families, and
our friends,
We thank you, Lord.

For minds to think, and hearts to love, and hands to serve,
We thank you, Lord.

For health and strength to work, and leisure to rest and play,
We thank you, Lord.

For the brave and courageous, who are patient in suffering
and faithful in adversity,
We thank you, Lord.

For all valiant seekers after truth, liberty, and justice,
We thank you, Lord.

For the communion of saints, in all times and places,
We thank you, Lord.

Above all, we give you thanks for the great mercies and
promises given to us in Christ Jesus our Lord;
To him be praise and glory, with you, O Father, and theHoly Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.



David Steindl-Rast "A Good Day"

David Steindl-Rast: Want to be happy? Be grateful

Gratefulness

“It is gratefulness which makes the soul great.”
― Abraham Joshua Heschel

Thanksgiving Sermon - November 25, 2010

The Rev. Peter M. Carey

Thanksgiving Sermon

25 November 2010

Emmanuel Episcopal Church

Greenwood, VA

In the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia

Philippians 4:4-9

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.

Do we rejoice?  Do we celebrate what we have been given?  Do we start to think that we created things ourselves, rather than resting in the arms of God, resting and rejoicing for all we have.  Rejoice IN the Lord.  God knows us down to our very bones, down to our marrow, and yet, yet…God still holds us close.  The thought seems too wonderful to me.  Though God knows me, my secrets and things I hide from the world – and still God loves me, and God holds us close.  Rejoice in the Lord, always.  Again, I will say, Rejoice!

Let your gentleness be known to everyone.

Do you feel gentle?  Do you turn to your gentle side, or are you more apt to turn to your harsh side?  As we enter into the holiday season, can we recapture our gentle side?  Can we take the time that is needed to let the “better angels of our natures” guide us…and not only guide, us but also that we have the courage to share this gentleness with others.  This time of busy-ness, doing, to do lists, decreasing sunlight, and all the rest may leave us feeling not so gentle.  However, we can turn to God, take time for silence and find great comfort.

The Lord is near.

The Lord is near!  There is a bumper sticker that says, “Jesus is coming, look busy.”  I would say, Jesus is coming – Rejoice!

Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Do you worry?  Do you fear?  We are in the midst of wars abroad, and an economy that leaves us wondering how the future will look.  We are in the midst of political battles that leave us falling back to old and tired divisions between left and right.  Do not worry about anything.  But pray.  Pray.  By prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God!  Give it to God.  Do not worry!

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

And you will be blessed.  The peace of God will guard your hearts and minds.  You are blessed.  The peace of God will wash over you like a warm breeze.  The fears and anxieties are taken away, and God’s peace, which surpasses all our imaginations, all of our understanding, all of our dreams and visions will overcome us and leave us at rest, in peace.

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

And so, think about these things.  Think about how we should rejoice in God.  Think about turning to our gentleness.  Think about the fact that the Lord is near!  The Lord is near!  Turn over your worry to God in prayer and supplication.  And that awesome peace of God will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 

Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

And don’t only think about these things, but keep on doing them.  Keep on doing that rejoicing, with gentleness, without worry, offering prayers, and recognizing the peace which passes all understanding.. That peace which we cannot fully understand; but only experience a piece of here in this time.  That peace which may come to us in this holiday time, if we take the time for silence, time for gratitude, time for thanksgiving, time for eucharisto – Eucharist.  Keep on doing the things that we have learned and received and heard and seen in Christ, for the God of peace will be with us!  Amen!

The only appropriate response is gratefulness...

Thank you Brother David Steindle-Rast!

"A Good Day"

Peace be with you,

~The Rev. Peter M. Carey

Thank you

If the only prayer you say in your entire life is thank you, that will suffice. ~Meister Eckhart

Thanksgiving is this holiday which has become a gorge-fest of eating and watching parades and football on television.  However, it at least is not drenched with candy and the getting of gifts.  Of course I do love getting gifts, and love giving gifts, but I do get a bit Scroogy - a bit Grinchy when it comes to many of our holidays.  Many of our holidays seem to become yet another excuse for the advertising industry to convince us that if we buy just one more thing, we'll be happy.  Thanksgiving has, in some ways, avoided this fate (although it is followed by Black Friday, so I may be putting too much hope in Thanksgiving).

Thanksgiving is this wonderful holiday that can unite people who may conceive of God in different ways, actually, the holiday can even bring together those who may be struggling with their understanding of the Almighty with those who profess a more orthodox faith.  The attitude of gratitude is one that we all can cultivate, and I hope that in the midst of the Turkey and parades and Turkey Trots and the NFL we might offer a hymn, prayer, or thought of thanks for all we have and all that we are.  Today.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

~The Rev. Peter M. Carey

photo credit - Scott Gunn - Lambeth 2008

Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation

The year that is drawing toward 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 the heart which is habitually insensible to the everwatchful providence of almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and provoke their aggressions, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict; while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the most high God, who while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American people. I do, therefore, invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that, while offering up the ascriptions justly due to him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation, and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity, and union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United Stated States to be affixed.

~Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, October 3, 1863

Is there anything to add?

I am having trouble preaching on the Thanksgiving RCL texts because they seem self-evident, deep, rich, and wonderful.  What on earth could I add to them?


From the Collect, "Make us, we pray, faithful stewards of your great bounty."  


From the Old Testament Lesson:  "The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O LORD, have given me." 


From the Psalm: "the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his faithfulness endures from age to age."


From the Epistle: "Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."


From the Gospel: "Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."


~The Rev. Peter M. Carey


Check them out for yourself:


Thanksgiving Day
Year C
RCL
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Psalm 100
Philippians 4:4-9
John 6:25-35


Almighty and gracious Father, we give you thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those who harvest them. Make us, we pray, faithful stewards of your great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Deuteronomy 26:1-11
When you have come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, "Today I declare to the LORD your God that I have come into the land that the LORD swore to our ancestors to give us." When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the LORD your God, you shall make this response before the LORD your God: "A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, we cried to the LORD, the God of our ancestors; the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O LORD, have given me." You shall set it down before the LORD your God and bow down before the LORD your God. Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the LORD your God has given to you and to your house.

Psalm 100 Page 729, BCP
Jubilate Deo
1 
Be joyful in the LORD, all you lands; *
serve the LORD with gladness
and come before his presence with a song. 
2 
Know this: The LORD himself is God; *
he himself has made us, and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. 
3 
Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise; *
give thanks to him and call upon his Name. 
4 
For the LORD is good;
his mercy is everlasting; *
and his faithfulness endures from age to age. 


Philippians 4:4-9
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

John 6:25-35
When the crowd found Jesus on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" Jesus answered them, "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal." Then they said to him, "What must we do to perform the works of God?" Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." So they said to him, "What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, `He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" Then Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."

Thanks for the Shout-Out, "Good News from Various parts of the Episcopal Middle"

check out PRELUDIUM

Mark Harris, over at "Preludium" (one of my all-time favorite blogs) has given the "SantosPopsicles" a shout-out today and I appreciate it. I have found his blog to be very helpful as I have tried to understand the moves and actions in the Anglican world over these last few years. Harris (as we all do) has a particular perspective and his voice is an important one in the conversation, he is a wonderful writer and a good teacher, even if you may disagree with him...If you haven't do check out his blog HERE, or at http://anglicanfuture.blogspot.com

Thanks Mark!

Peace be with you,

Peter+

PRELUDIUM: Good News from Various parts of the Episcopal Middle

A year as a priest

A year ago, I was ordained a priest in Christ's One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, here in the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia at St. James Church (Richmond) by Bishop Peter James Lee and a whole host of other priests. After several years of the "discernment process" and three years of seminary and six months as a "transitional" deacon, this was a joyous day and a wonderful occasion. Though it is the general practice in the Episcopal Church to not have people take pictures during liturgies, there were a few wonderful pictures taken, the following two were taken by the local paper here in Richmond.




That's my head under Bishop Lee's hands...(I wonder how many priests he has ordained!)



And then this one taken by a family member...




It has been a wonderful, rich, and challenging first year as an ordained priest in the Episcopal Church for me, and one of the most important gifts is that I get to learn from students, teachers, and staff as I function as a priest within a wonderful Episcopal School, St. Catherine's School, here in Richmond. I preach weekly to the youngest of our students, and work with a wonderful colleague who is our lower school chapel coordinator - she and our music teacher do the bulk of the planning of these lower school chapels, and I have learned so much from them. Twice weekly, I assist our wise and compassionate middle school chaplain who is a gifted preacher and pastor. Every once in a while I have the privilege of preaching to the middle school, but mostly I get to experience the awesome energy and gifts that are the students and faculty of our middle school. I am the coordinator of our upper school chapels, along with our amazing music director, who is an incredible teacher of singing who brings out the best in his music groups. The aspect of our upper school chapel that I am most proud of is that we have had several upper school students preach reflective and insightful homilies during our services. I am so proud of these girls, and hope that more girls are willing to share a story, a reflection, or a bit about their sense of God in their lives.

On top of this "chapel" work, I am extremely thankful for my colleagues - the teachers, staff, and administration, as well as our excellent support staff who are giving, hard-working, wise, and collaborative. If part of a priest's job is to help to "empower the saints" to do ministry, I am blessed with an amazing group of "saints" who already do amazing ministry with our students and with one another. I have been blessed to be serving in such a place, and I thank them heartily. May the Christmas Spirit abide with them in this season and throughout the year!

As we head off to some time off, Merry Christmas!!

(oh, we still have two services tomorrow, of course, and a couple classes to teach...and miles to go before I sleep...)

~ The Rev. Peter M. Carey, Chaplain, St. Catherine's School, Richmond

Ending the liturgical year with moments of Thanksgiving

It has been customary that at the end of the Calendar year, at the end of December, to take a look back at the year - we see the Time Magazine "Person of the Year," and special editions of newspapers, news shows, and other media outlets that reflect on the year for us. It can also be a rich time at the end of the calendar year for us to reflect upon the year, though I imagine that most of us take more time to look ahead, to make those "New Years Resolutions" that often fail, but we still strive to keep them.

This week is the final week of the liturgical year, we are finishing up the last week after Pentecost, which began back in those warm days of May, and has continued through the summer and through most of the fall. Some churches recognize the last Sunday of the liturgical year as "Christ the King" Sunday, and while this is a relatively common practice in the Episcopal Church, my friend Scott Gunn over at "Seven Whole Days" reminded me this week that this "holiday" is not actually prescribed in our Book of Common Prayer. Whether or not your church celebrates this week as Christ the King Sunday, you probably are celebrating Thanksgiving in some form or another - and many people love this holiday; there is a unifying aspect of this holiday, as we all can give thanks, no matter what our creed or world view may be.

For Christians, this week is a kind of a "getting ready to get ready" week, as we prepare to begin the season of Advent - a season of expectation. It is a strange season, because we know that Christ has already come, so it is difficult to just set that aside and pretend that we are somehow in the time period before the baby was born to Mary and Joseph. So, we spend some time trying to live in this time of expectation, knowing that Jesus Christ has come, but also knowing that the fullness of God has not yet fully broken into our lives in the deepest way possible. We know that Christ has come, and yet we also pray that Christ may come again.

In this week of expectation for the season of expectation, a season of advent before Advent, it is wholly appropriate and wonderful to take time to take stock, to give thanks for the year - for the blessings, and also the times of struggle, for the ways that we have learned and grown, and even for those challenges that have come our way. It may be a great time to "clear the decks," to set aside some of the past hurt and toxicity that we have allowed to fester. Perhaps it is a time to recognize the good even in those folks who get under our skin, and those interactions that rub us the wrong way.

I hope we all can give thanks for all that we are and all that we have during this week of Thanksgiving, even in uneasy and uncertain times, and that we will all pray that we can enter the Season of Advent with new vision, new energy, and an openness to whatever may be born in us in this new liturgical year.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

~ Rev. Peter M. Carey

For all that has been thanks,....from Hammarskjold

I've always loved this quote, "For all that has been thanks, for all that will be yes" from Dag Hammarskjold, former General Secretary of the United Nations.

Thanksgiving and the Oscars

I have not always been a total fan of the Oscars. However, I have found that in the last few years I have really gotten into watching the Oscars - as I am right now. I once had a good friend who just LOVED the Oscars and always watched them with her mom - I coud not get into it at the time, but I have become a recent convert to joining in the spectacle.

I find them to be public liturgy, and they are really an amazing presentation. What I find most inspiring about the Oscars is the "I want to thank the members of the Academy..." The reason is that I think that these offerings are drenched with emotion, and also exhibit that sensibility that we seem to see all too rarely: Thanksgiving.

All too often, the really wonderful ones seem to be cut off by that infernal music -- I know we can't have the Oscars go on all night, but couldn't we offer a few more minutes to gratitude, to thanksgiving?

Offering thanksgiving for all that we are, and all that we have is, and can be, prayer. What if we each thought through what our "Oscar Speech" would be? Who would we thank, how would we thank them, how emotional would we become? And then, I wonder if we all should thank those people, if we should publicly thank those who have meant so much to us.

When I offer youth services, sometimes we ask the kids to come up with the "Asking" (petition) prayers and the "Thanking" prayers, and the kids offer up the earthy, real, and deep prayers emerging from their lives -- and they offer up wonderful prayers of thankgsgiving.

I love hearing the words of thanksgiving at the Oscars, and I think we would all do well to actually "Thank the Academy, and ....." more often.

Installation services

We had two great services of Installation of our new Head of School this week that took a lot of work, coordination and planning, but were great services of celebration for her new ministry. I am so thankful for everyone who played a part, and especially those who were on the planning teams who helped this rookie clergyperson to pull of some really fine liturgy. Here's one photo from the Celebration for Students from Tuesday of this week that shows just a few of the participants. I am full of gratitude for the many gifts and offerings made during these two services (and each an every day in this place.)

Thanks to all!

Peace and Blessings,

The Rev. Peter M. Carey