I wish all of our family in the Second Parish of Worcester a happy Thanksgiving. Whether you are sharing your meal with a few or a crowd, with friends or family or the family of our church here, I offer this prayer for your meal. I'm grateful for all of you, and for our ancestors, the great fellowship of First Unitarian Church.
In faith,
Rev. Sarah C. Stewart
A table blessing for Thanksgiving.
Spirit of sustenance and life, Spirit of love and comfort,
We give thanks for all the blessings of our lives.
We give thanks for the food we are about to enjoy:
for the fruits of the good earth, and for the labor of human hands which brought it to our table.
We give thanks for the friends and family gathered here, breaking bread together in peace.
We give thanks for all the wonders of life: all the families who gather with plenty this day and every day; those we love, near and far; all the living beings on our planet; all the opportunities to share loving-kindness with one another.
[You may go around the table and invite each person to name something they are grateful for.]
We ask for the gifts of peace for our hurting world.
May all who hunger and thirst, living without enough to meet their daily needs, find fullness, compassion and justice.
May all homes know peace. May all neighborhoods be peaceful. May our country be at peace. May nations make war no more.
May this fellowship warm our hearts with love for our neighbors. May this meal strengthen us to work for a just world for all people. May our thanksgiving inspire us to live lives that help one another.
Amen.
