From the Pastoral perspective:

Dear People of God!

Thanksgiving - I wonder what images and thoughts that word brings to your mind. Fall? Family? Football? Food? Fun? Funerals?

Thanksgiving - Our lives are enriched and nourished by many things - some joyful, some sad, some important, some trivial. Probably for most of us Thanksgiving is a time for family gatherings and lots of food - perhaps, sadly for some, an empty chair at the table. But, certainly, for God’s Old Testament people and for those New Testament pilgrims whom we recall at this holiday, this word meant much more. For them, even in the midst of heartache and scarcity there was Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving - It’s a special time of the year for God’s people to set aside time and ceremony and ritual for giving thanks - giving thanks for the big things of life like forgiveness of sins through Christ ... hope in the face of death because of the One who died for us and rose again ... security in the knowledge that we are beloved and never forsaken children of God. It’s also a time for giving thanks for the little things of life like music and organs ... our homes and loved ones ... clean sheets and food in the freezer ... places to work and communities of people gathered for worship and ministry.

Thanksgiving - Mostly, however, it’s a special time of the year set aside to give thanks to the One who breathed the breath of life into us (no matter what our individual circumstances) ... to give thanks to the One from whom all things come (no matter what our individual circumstances)... to give thanks to the One in whom we live and move and have our being (no matter what our individual circumstances)... to give thanks and sing songs of praise to God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Thanksgiving - It’s also a time for each of us to thank God for the gift of each other - for the families we worship with each week ... for the people we serve and work with as members of Bethlehem. God’s blessings to each of you.

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ!

Pastor Dan

Click here to read Pastor Dan's response to the decisions made at the 2009 ELCA Assembly Meeting

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