Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Here's what I shared at the interfaith Thanksgiving Eve service in Jackson...
In Unitarian Universalism, we’re a blend of loving and embracing tradition, coming out of an American Christian tradition, and a blend of beliefs from different world religions, cultures, and some we’ve come up with on our own. When it comes time for the holidays, therefore, we balance doing the traditional, customary American and Christian rituals with bringing in new ideas, older ideas from other places, and, always, a focus on justice. Thanksgiving is a time when we celebrate togetherness and thankfulness and abundance, but also mourn the brokenness, the brokenness of our connection to the earth, the brokenness of peace, the brokenness of our relationship to the First Nations people on whose land we stand.
I want to share with you a short reading from my colleague the Rev. Chris Buice. He speaks humorously about the dilemma we in a pluralistic faith encounter. He writes:
(See his words here.)
His question of who or what do I give thanks to is not one I can answer. I don’t direct my thanks to another entity. I am simply thankful, grateful for what I have received. And I remember that gifts have to keep moving—if you save it, store it, lock it up, it ceases to be a gift in your life. So I believe when we are grateful, we must pass on our blessings.
I want to conclude my words with a prayer that was sent to me by the Unitarian Universalist campaign for justice called “Standing on the Side of Love.”
(Sorry, folks, I couldn't find the prayer to link to directly, and didn't want to repost without permission.)
Here's what I shared at the interfaith Thanksgiving Eve service in Jackson...
In Unitarian Universalism, we’re a blend of loving and embracing tradition, coming out of an American Christian tradition, and a blend of beliefs from different world religions, cultures, and some we’ve come up with on our own. When it comes time for the holidays, therefore, we balance doing the traditional, customary American and Christian rituals with bringing in new ideas, older ideas from other places, and, always, a focus on justice. Thanksgiving is a time when we celebrate togetherness and thankfulness and abundance, but also mourn the brokenness, the brokenness of our connection to the earth, the brokenness of peace, the brokenness of our relationship to the First Nations people on whose land we stand.
I want to share with you a short reading from my colleague the Rev. Chris Buice. He speaks humorously about the dilemma we in a pluralistic faith encounter. He writes:
(See his words here.)
His question of who or what do I give thanks to is not one I can answer. I don’t direct my thanks to another entity. I am simply thankful, grateful for what I have received. And I remember that gifts have to keep moving—if you save it, store it, lock it up, it ceases to be a gift in your life. So I believe when we are grateful, we must pass on our blessings.
I want to conclude my words with a prayer that was sent to me by the Unitarian Universalist campaign for justice called “Standing on the Side of Love.”
(Sorry, folks, I couldn't find the prayer to link to directly, and didn't want to repost without permission.)
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