November 20, 2012

A General Thanksgiving – From The Book of Common Prayer
Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have
done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole
creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life,
and for the mystery of love.
We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for
the loving care which surrounds us on every side.
We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best
efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy
and delight us.
We thank you also for those disappointments and failures
that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone.
Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the
truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast
obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying,
through which he overcame death; and for his rising to life
again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom.
Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know him and
make him known; and through him, at all times and in all
places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.

Prayers of the Congregation

• Leona Sims – Summit Hospital
• Phil Meads for Gloria who has not been feeling well
• Paige Bence and John Lee for Martha Norman
• Maxine O’Guinn for Shawn, Mildred and Thelma
• Mary Alice and Abe Cirimele for Carmel Ledyard and family on the death of Paul
• Carolyn Person and Cameron Wilson for Hershel Vinson
• A just peace in the Middle East
• The work of our Hunger Task Force
• Kay Baxter for Jamie and Stacey
• Karen Hopkins for her brother Jeff and family
• All who are grieving
• All who are traveling
• Jeanne Robinson for Esther, a teenager in Uganda
• Zondra Martin for her family
• Ted and Doris Evans for their family
• Ann Fields for her family
• The 1 in 15 Americans who live on less than $11,500/year for a family of four
• The workers at Wal-Mart who are organizing for a living wage
• President Obama as he visits Burma (the first American President to do so) and other Asian countries
• Thanksgiving with Fannye Leary on her son’s (Kenneth) election to the American Canyon City Council
• All who receive assistance from the LABC Fellowship Fund
• Brian Dixon for his grandmother

Closing Notes

Tyrone and I thank the Pastoral Relations Committee and the Congregation for the happy celebration of our birthdays after church this past Sunday. We are honored to serve this congregation.
Speaking of last Sunday, I found the Thanksgiving reflections the members of the congregation shared in worship to be insightful and inspiring. For the ways that they reflect the quality of our life together, I am grateful. For the ways that they set a high standard to live up to, I am humbled.
A further Thanksgiving -Karen and I will celebrate our 34th Anniversary on November 25. Yes, it goes without saying that she is a forgiving, resilient and understanding person.