03/10/2018

Good morning. When, on the 3rd of October 1863, at the height of the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation fixing the last Thursday in November as the date of a Thanksgiving festival, he began the tradition that became a major celebration in the American calendar.

Here in Britain, at this time of year, many churches are holding Harvest Thanksgiving services. My Welsh language congregation held their festival last week, while next Sunday it will be the turn of their English language counterparts. In recent years people have often commented that Harvest Thanksgiving no longer has the importance that it once did, even in rural areas. For many of us a steady supply of food throughout the year is often taken for granted, even if the number of people dependent on food banks seems to be on the increase.

Abraham Lincoln noted ‘the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies’ as a subject for thanksgiving. However, he also noted that ‘these bounties...are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come’. To my mind giving thanks is an acknowledgment that we are dependent on God and on our neighbours – and that that acknowledgment is important in an increasingly fragile world.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for all those who are involved in producing and distributing the food that sustains us from day to day. May we never forget our dependence on their labour. Help us also to be aware of the needs of those left hungry in the midst of the abundance of the world that you entrust to us, responding with the generous love that you have taught us through your son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.