Special Thanksgiving Worship: “An Attitude of Gratitude”

Scripture Passages

Joel 2: 21-27

Psalm 126

1 Timothy 2: 1-7

Matthew 6: 25-33

Centering Meditation

“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.”          Meister Eckhart 

Litany of Gratitude

One:    Fill us with an attitude of gratitude

            as we give thanks for waking up this morning

            and for every breath we take,

All:      We thank you, Holy One!

One:    For the beauty and wonder of creation,

All:      We thank you, Holy One!

One:    For animals, plants, oceans, stars, the wind and sky; 

            for our earth and all its cycles, beauties and mysteries,

            for fields of lilies and flowers,

All:      We thank you, Holy One!

One:    For our daily bread, for our homes, families, and friends,

All:      We thank you, Holy One!

One:    For minds to contemplate the universe and hearts to love,

All:      We thank you, Holy One!

One:    For our spiritual imaginations

            that give us eyes to see and ears to hear

            the possibilities of healing transformation,

All:      We thank you, Holy One!

One:    For the salvation and joy of work and service to others,

All:      We thank you, Holy One!

One:    For the miracle  of our human bodies and their capacity to heal,

All:      We thank you, Holy One!

One:    For the courage to do what’s right,

All:      We thank you, Holy One!

One:    For all our ancestors who have worked for peace and justice,

            and made our lives possible,

All:      We thank you, Holy One!

One:    For the creative spirit that gives us music, dance and all the arts,

All:      We thank you, Holy One!

One:    For all world religions which teach us to love one another,

 All:     We thank you, Holy One!

One:    For all those know mercy and kindness and who do justice unto the least of these,

All:      We thank you, Holy One!

One:    For the diversity of races, cultures and life experiences in our holy human family,

All:      We thank you, Holy One!

One:    For the hospitality we share to gather in celebration, 

All:      We thank you, Holy One!

One:    Today we give thanks especially for . . .

All:      [call out the names of those who have inspired and loved us, living or dead]

One:    For children everywhere and the hope they bring,

All:      We thank you, Holy One!

One:    For new life within us and all around us,

All:      We thank you, Holy One!

One:    For you who are this mystery we call Holy,

            we rejoice and say thank you….

            Fill us with your grace;  guide us in your love.

All:      We thank you, Holy One!

            We Rejoice and say Hallelujah,

            Thank you and Amen.

Prayer of Invocation

          Gracious God

            You fill your world with beauty and abundance

            and offer it to us to share with one another. 

            Your generosity overflows into our lives,

            and we celebrate.

            Meet us here today to rejoice in your goodness

            and in one another

            so that we may go forth

            to make of our whole lives a prayer of thanksgiving.

Prayer of Confession

            We often waste our time and fill up our lives with useless fear and worry.

            (Pause to reflect in silence)

            We ask for forgiveness, God of Mercy,

            and ask for the grace to give up worry and fear

            and fill ourselves instead with knowledge of your goodness

            and gratitude for your love.

Assurance of Pardon

            Jesus says to us,  “Therefore do not worry, saying what will I eat?

            Or what will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’

            …But strive first for the reign of God and God’s righteousness

            and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:31, 33)   

Call to Offering

We give thanks to everyone here

who has ever offered a prayer for the church,

anyone who has ever shared their gifts of service or love

to the Church of Jesus Christ. 

Thank you to everyone who has given gifts large and small to our church.

Thank you for giving this offering for the ministry of this church.

Benediction

Our GOD has done great things for them.

Our GOD has done great things for us, and we rejoice.” (Psalm 126:3)

We thank you, Holy One!

Go out with an attitude of gratitude. Go in peace.

Children’s Sermon: Demonstrate the “Attitude of Gratitude”

Invite the children (and perhaps the grown ups, too) to stand  and lift up their arms and hands toward the sky and smile and say, “Thank you God!”  three times.

The invite them to and hunch themselves over and frown and say three times “I am so worried about not having. . . [fill in the blank].”

Then ask each child how they felt each time.  How different?  What felt good?  What felt uncomfortable?

Reflect on how our muscles remember the attitudes we have the most often.

Ask if an attitude of gratitude is a good habit they might be willing to develop

every day in their prayer life. 

Ask the children to share what they are grateful for

and offer a closing prayer of gratitude and thanksgiving.

An Attitude of Gratitude: Service Prayers for Thanksgiving, was written by the Rev. Bonnie Tarwater, pastor of the Congregational Church of Lincoln City, Lincoln City, Oregon.

Copyright 2009 Local Church Ministries, Congregational Vitality and Discipleship Ministry Team, United Church of Christ, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, OH  44115-1100.  Permission granted to reproduce or adapt this material for use in services of worship or church education.  All publishing rights reserved.