Holy Cross The holiday season is upon us. Thanksgiving is the start. The history of thanksgiving celebrations is at best controversial- who had the first one in the United States? Did the Pilgrims celebrate it first or did the colonists in Virginia? Each claims the first Thanksgiving. A little known fact is that George Washington proclaimed a day of Thanksgiving in 1789 for all the blessings our young nation had experienced. The Episcopal Church established that the first Thursday of November would be its official day of Thanksgiving, unless the civil authorities chose another day. That would not happen until 1941. In October of that year Congress passed a joint resolution that the last Thursday of November would be our nation's official day of Thanksgiving. So now we celebrate with parades, football games and holiday sales- much different then what it was intended to be. There are two national holidays that can be celebrated in our church, Thanksgiving and Independence Day. The prayer book provides prayers and lessons for a celebration of the Eucharist on those days. Well, so much for the history of the national day of Thanksgiving. What does thanksgiving mean in our everyday life? It is very simple. Every Sunday we have a day of Thanksgiving, the Holy Eucharist. Eucharist from the Greek means "thanksgiving". Every Sunday we gather as a faith community, to remember our redemption in the sacrifice Jesus made for us and for all the blessings the Lord bestows upon us. Thanksgiving is the essence of the Christian life. We are called to live a life of thanksgiving and praise, so others can see what the Lord has done for us, and so they will want to be a part of that life of thanksgiving. That I believe is true evangelism.A thankful church contains happy people and happy communities, and God knows we need much happiness in our world today. Ask yourself this question every day: "What am I thankful for most in my life?" Peace and love Ed
