WE LIFT UP OUR HANDS TO THE LORD and GIVE HIM THANKS ...

WE LIFT UP OUR HANDSTO THE LORDand GIVE HIM THANKSHYMN: FOR THE BEAUTY OF THE EARTHFor the beauty of the earthFor the glory of the skies,For the love which from our birthOver and around us lies.RefrainLord of all, to Thee we raise,This our hymn of grateful praise.For the beauty of each hour,Of the day and of the night,Hill and vale, and tree and flower,Sun and moon, and stars of light.For the joy of ear and eye,For the heart and mind’s delight,For the mystic harmonyLinking sense to sound and sight.For the joy of human love,Brother, sister, parent, child,Friends on earth and friends above,For all gentle thoughts and mild.For each perfect gift of Thine,To our race so freely given,Graces human and divine,Flowers of earth and buds of Heaven.PRESENCE OF GOD(Leader) Coming together with joyful hearts as God’s people,we pause and remember that we continually live in His presence.Our God watches over as more than the birds of the air and the flowers of thefield. He holds us in the palm of His hand.

(All) Glory to You, Source of All Being, Eternal Word and Spirit Most Holy. As itwas, is now, and forever shall be. Amen.PSALM 66Let my prayer be incense before you;my uplifted hands as at an evening sacrifice.O God, be gracious and bless usand let Your face shed its light upon us.So will Your ways be known upon earthand all nations learn Your saving help.Let the peoples praise You, O GodLet all the peoples praise You.Let the nations be glad and exultfor You rule the world with justice.With fairness You rule the peoples,You guide the nations on earth.Let the peoples praise You, O GodThe earth has yielded its fruitfor God, our God, has blessed us.May God still give us His blessingtill the ends of the earth revere Him.Let the peoples praise you, O GodGlory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. Amen.1 THESSALONIANS 5: 11 - 23Encourage one another and build one another up, as indeed you do.We ask you, brothers and sisters, to respect those who are laboring amongyou and who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you, and to showesteem for them with special love on account of their work. Be at peaceamong yourselves. We urge you, brothers to admonish the idle, cheer thefainthearted, support the weak, and be patient with all.See that no one returns evil for evil; rather, always seek what is good (both)for each other and for all.Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing.In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in ChristJesus. Do not quench the Spirit.Do not despise prophetic utterances. Test everything; retain what is good.Refrain from every kind of evil.May the God of peace Himself make you perfectly holy and may you entirely,spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our LordJesus Christ.

REFLECTIONWe have an annual day that provides a good opportunity to take stock of ourlives and what is truly important.Thanksgiving is a day to remember what is most important in life. There is nobetter time to reflect what is most important in our life and that of our family.George Washington in 1789, acting upon the recommendation of both Housesof Congress, issued a proclamation declaring Thursday, November 26, 1789 tobe a "day of public thanksgiving and prayer." His thoughts, as expressed inthe proclamation, are still worth recalling two centuries later.President Washington's proclamation said the day of Thanksgiving is "to bedevoted by the People of these States to the service of that great andglorious Being, Who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is,or that will be--That we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincereand humble thanks--for His kind care and protection of the People of thisCountry previous to their becoming a Nation--for the signal and manifoldmercies, and the favorable interpositions of His Providence which weexperienced in the tranquility, union, and plenty, which we have sinceenjoyed--for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have beenenabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety andhappiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted--for thecivil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we haveof acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the greatand various favors which He hath been pleased to confer upon us."Those are words worth remembering as much now as when they werewritten more than two centuries ago as we gather with family and friends tocelebrate Thanksgiving. We have been blessed by the ability to celebrateanother Thanksgiving. We have no idea what the future holds for our countryand ourselves, but we should recall that President Washington'sproclamation advised "it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge theProvidence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits,and humbly to implore His protection and favor."Let us give thanks to Him that we have been granted another year in which tocelebrate the awesome gift of life, our faith, and all our blessings. Mayeveryday be a day of thanksgiving.

LITANY OF THANKSGIVINGResponse: PRAISED AND BLESSED BE GOD.For the gift of life and all of creation, we say:For the gift of our holy faith and all those who have nourished us in the faith,we say:For the gift of the Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, we say:For the gift of Jesus in Word, Sacrament and Others, we say:For the Holy Spirit Who calls us to life, to holiness, and to creativity, we say:For the gift of family and friends, we say:For all the people who have impacted our lives, we say:For all the opportunities and experiences we have encountered thus far, wepray:For the times we have been healed, we say:For the times we have been forgiven of our wrongdoings, we say:For the gift of our relatives who have gone before us, especially ourgrandparents, Godparents, parents, brothers and sisters, we pray:For the gift of all those who volunteer their services, we pray:For those who protect us from harm: the police and fire personnel, doctors,nurses, teachers, lawyers and all those who serve or have served in themilitary, we say:For our health such as it is, we say:For our freedom in America, we say:For all who grow, harvest, produce and market crops, we say:For the gifts of food, clothing and shelter, we say:For all of our gifts and blessings, we say:Let us pray:Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed uswith all spiritual and material blessings. Our God cares for us more than theflowers of the field and the birds of the air.May we always and everywhere give Him thanks.PSALM 100Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.Worship the Lord with gladness;come before Him with joyful songs.Know that the Lord is God.It is He Who made us, and we are His ;we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts withpraise;give thanks to Him and praise His name.For the Lord is good and His love endures forever;His faithfulness continues through all generations.

While we reflect upon our Christian heritage and manyblessings, we focus our prayers upon our brothers andsisters in Christ throughout the world who are now facingpersecution just as the pilgrims once did.It is often difficult for us, in our warm, comfortable, andsecure homes, to imagine the horrors that countlessChristians in foreign countries now face due to their faithin and obedience to Jesus Christ. We must never forgetthese dear brothers and sisters in Christ.They desperately need our prayers.-Kimberly B. SouthallLet all things now living a song of thanksgivingTo God the creator triumphantly raise.Who fashioned and made us, protected and stayed us,Who still guides us on to the end of our days.God's banners are o'er us, His light goes before us,A pillar of fire shining forth in the night.Till shadows have vanished and darkness is banishedAs forward we travel from light into light.His law He enforces, the stars in their coursesAnd sun in its orbit obediently shine;The hills and the mountains, the rivers and fountains,The deeps of the ocean proclaim Him divine.We too should be voicing our love and rejoicing;With glad adoration a Song let us raiseTill all things now living unite in thanksgiving:"To God in the highest, Hosanna and praise!"+Saint John Baptist de La Salleand all you holy Brothers who have gone before us,help us to always and everywhere be people of thanks and blessing.Live Jesus in our hearts. Forever!