“We Gather Together . . .” by Lisa Shoemaker

I received for my birthday a few months ago a book called the Five-Minute Journal (created by Alex Ikonn and U. J. Ramdas). In this little book, I take five minutes out of every morning and five minutes out of every evening to write.

While the book guides me to think about a myriad of different things about my day, in the morning, I write down three things for which I am thankful. For me, this ranges anywhere from hot coffee to my back-porch swing to the real friends in my life. In essence, I am counting my blessings. Everyday.

It’s amazing the actual gratitude you have for your life when you are consciously writing down the little things for which you give thanks. Gratitude makes us feel tingly and good about the day. It pushes us to smile at strangers and be kind to others.

If the idea behind Thanksgiving originally was to express thanks to God for his bountiful provision in the harvest, then imagine how the early white settlers enjoyed expressing this thanks all together. In community. It’s the “in community” part that has inspired our church to gather around a common meal in just over a week.

When we all eat that feast together next weekend in Heritage Hall just down the street, we are sharing our tingly feelings of gratitude with friends. We are celebrating yet another year of work, weddings, births, funerals, new members, growth, and new ways of thinking. When we humble ourselves in gratitude for the gifts in our lives that really matter, and do so with others, we are connecting. We are experiencing a comradery that says, “The year wasn’t always easy or pleasant, but it did have some great moments for which we give thanks.”  All of us. 

Yes, many of us will celebrate our gratitude for life’s gifts and joys with our families and friends in somewhat more intimate settings at the end of the month, but this gathering at 5:30 p.m. on November 17 is a time when we can acknowledge how grateful we are for our church friends, for our faith journeys, and for our God—all together.

Nothing brings people together in celebration more effectively than sharing a meal around a table. It is a time to get to know someone better, to laugh with others, and to really see the faces of folks in our church. Come. Gather.

Lisa Shoemaker