By Heather Melton
It’s November, and for those of us in the United States that means thinking about the holiday of Thanksgiving. Many of us look forward to time off, gathering with family and friends, and sharing a good meal. When I first became a mom, I wanted to make sure that Thanksgiving was more than just a meal for my kiddos. I wanted it to be a chance to reflect on the good that has happened and really listening and celebrating the good that has happened in the lives of the people gathered around my table.
The way we make Thanksgiving center on gratitude has changed over the years. Sometimes it is playful (like when we used these gratitude conversation dice you can download for free from the United Thank Offering to help you talk about what you’re thankful for). Sometimes it is serious, like after we’ve had a loved one die and our gratitude for their life is mixed with sorrow for our loss. Regardless, when we take time on Thanksgiving to practice gratitude, it helps us remember to do this work each day. When we practice gratitude, we notice the gift that others are in our lives and we name it. When we say thank you, we acknowledge the holy and change the world through these moments of kindness and gratitude.
Unfortunately, the history of Thanksgiving is not always something to give thanks for, and in fact has been quite harmful to our Indigenous communities. It is important to do the work of learning about the history of Thanksgiving and teaching our children about it as well. We’ve got resources on the United Thank Offering webpage to help you have the conversation or to deep-dive into a gratitude practice with your family throughout the month of November. One tradition we started recently was to start our meal with a prayer that includes a land acknowledgement. United Thank Offering has a suggested one that you can use; we’ve even put it on a card you can print and have on your table in addition to a liturgy you can use in your congregation to mark Thanksgiving.
For me, this prayer is a note of gratitude for those who lived here before me and for the care and love they infused into this land, and for the care and love they continue to infuse into our community, and a reminder of the importance and urgency of the work to become the beloved community.
I hope we can all add a new or different way to practice gratitude this Thanksgiving. Thank God and thank all of you for the ways you’ve blessed this world.
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The Rev. Heather Melton is the staff officer for the United Thank Offering.