Sharing Thanks

Scripture – 1 Thessalonians 1:2 (NRSV)

We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly.

Devotion

As you may know, I was the senior pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church for sixteen years. When I began serving in 1991, I learned that the church had a tradition of a Thanksgiving Eve worship service. Gathering the night before Thanksgiving Day made a lot of sense in this church because so many people were heading off to grandma’s house on Thanksgiving Day or busying themselves preparing to host their own holiday celebrations.

Thanksgiving “pumpkins” expressing gratitude to God at Irvine Presbyterian Church.

From the very beginning, I loved our Thanksgiving Eve service. It was wonderful to gather as a church family and express our gratitude to the Lord. We did many things to make this service highly participatory and relatively short, in part because we had so many young children with us.

One of our favorite traditions involved small pumpkin-shaped, orange pieces of construction paper. We’d hand these out to everyone when they arrived. Then, when the service began, we’d encourage them to record on their “pumpkin” that for which they were grateful. Children who couldn’t write yet were invited to draw that for which they were thankful, which usually meant their parents and/or their pets. Then, near the end of the service, we’d invite everyone to come forward and add their “pumpkins” to a decorative cornucopia on the communion table. Those who wished could also make financial donations to a local homeless shelter.

I loved watching people come forward with their “pumpkins.” It was such a powerful visual symbol of the gratitude we shared as a church family. Everyone was involved, from the youngest to the oldest. And if someone wasn’t able to come forward physically, we were sure to bring their “pumpkins” on their behalf.

As the service concluded, we had before us a giant pile of colorful thanksgiving prayers, appropriately collected on the same table we’d use for communion (which some Christians call the “Eucharist,” from the Greek word eucharistia, meaning “thanksgiving”). I’ve included a photo from one of our services so you can enjoy it.

Thanksgiving, both the holiday and the activity, should be directed to God. Though it would be fine to thank people as well, the main point of Thanksgiving is offering gratitude to God. Yet, it’s a wonderful thing when we share our God-directed gratitude with those for whom we are thankful. That’s something the Apostle Paul did in almost all of his letters. To the Thessalonians, for example, he wrote, “We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly” (1 Thessalonians 1:2). By doing this Paul not only modeled thankful prayer but also encouraged the recipients of his letter. It’s a nice thing to know when someone is thankful for you.

As we draw near to Thanksgiving Day, let me encourage you to give thanks to God. But why not also let others know of your gratitude? You might tell them you’re thankful for them and why. Or you might find ways to share all sorts of thanks together. It’s probably too late this year to plan a Thanksgiving Eve service. But you could certainly set aside some time on Thanksgiving Day for shared gratitude. My extended family does this each year, and it’s a highlight for all of us.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Commentary on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Working Faith, Finishing Up, and Keeping the Faith (1 Thess. 1:1–4:8; 4:13–5:28; 2 Thess. 1:1-2:17)

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