I
suspect that in both Canada and the US Thanksgiving worship happens in a
variety of settings. Some will read
these texts at community services. Others might use them on the Sunday before
Thanksgiving instead of the Christ the King/Reign of Christ texts. And, who knows how others will use them. Leave a Comment and tell the rest of us how
you will use them.
General Thanksgiving Ideas
Involving children in community services is a good way to
draw a crowd and to introduce children to their community’s religious
base. Anything that works on Sunday
morning will work at a community service.
Particularly good ideas include:
> Have the children’s classes in participating congregations illustrate hymns that
will be sung. Scan their drawings and project
them during the singing.
> Include children’s choirs in
the singing. Either gather children in
all the churches into one choir or invite several children’s choirs to sing at
different points in the service. The
former requires at least one rehearsal which can be a minus (another meeting)
and a plus (chance for children to sing with friends in other congregations and
to be in at least one of their buildings).
The latter requires no extra gatherings, but can turn into a choir
competition – not terribly conducive to giving thanks.
Thanksgiving
music for children
> Before singing the Doxology,
invite all the children to meet you at the front. Note that you are about to sing a song that
begins, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow.” Define “blessings” as those things that are
so good they make us happy to be alive.
Name one or two of your blessings, then ask the children to name a few
of theirs. (And, yes video games are
blessings to certain people. So, don’t
let the congregation laugh at them!) Then
send the children back to their seats to join the congregation in singing the
song praising God for all their blessings.
> In advance get children (maybe in their classes) to draw
illustrations of the verses or even phrases of one or more of the songs you
will sing. Scan them and project them
while the song is being sung. Probably
the best songs to illustrate are
For the Beauty of the Earth
All Things Bright and Beautiful
I Sing the Mighty Power of God
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> The old standard Thanksgiving hymns (“Come, Ye
Thankful People Come” and “We Gather Together to Ask The Lord’s
Blessing”) are not easy for children. They are filled with unfamiliar vocabulary
and metaphorical harvest images. Older
adults learned them at school when they were growing up. Children today do not.
> “We Plow the Seeds and Scatter”
is a better harvest hymn. It sets
concrete harvest images to a simple tune.
Help children further by offering them illustrated word sheets and
walking through the structure of the three verses before singing them.
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> “Now Thank We All Our God”
is a more general thanksgiving hymn children can sing at least parts of.
> “Grateful,” a song by John
Bucchino, is illustrated in a book of the same name that comes with a CD of Art
Garfunkel singing the song. One way to
use it in worship is teach the congregation the chorus, then listen to
Garfunkel sing joining him on the chorus as the book is projected. With a small group of children follow the
pictures in the book as you sing together.
The third verse is the most child accessible. I would start there to introduce the song and
define “grateful.” Many of the ideas in
the other verses are beyond the experience of children. (Hear David Campbell sing the song and follow
the lyrics printed beside it HERE.)
Good
Thanksgiving Books to Read in Worship
> Sometimes
misreading a word opens the way to new possibilities. In reading Thank You, God, for Everything,
by August Gold, I read “journey” but thought “journal”. That led me to see all the pages that
followed as if they were pages in Daisy’s journal with each one thanking God
for different things. That leads me to
wonder about giving children (all worshipers?) small empty notebooks and
colored pens or pencils with which to add pictures and words about things for
which they are thankful. It could be a
great worship art project. Invite
worshipers to add to it as they sing and pray their ways through the
service. If you do this, be sure to ask
children to show you at least one page of their work as they leave the
sanctuary. Encourage families to share
their “Thank you God for Everything” journals when they get home. (You may or may not need to read any or all
of Thank You, God, for Everything in worship.)
> The journals
could be small purchased notebooks or several pieces of paper folded in half
and nested together (maybe held by a staple or tied ribbon.
> The Secret of Saying Thanks, by
Douglas Wood, insists that giving thanks makes us happy. “We cannot feel thankful and unhappy at the
same time.” “We don’t give thanks
because we’re happy. We are happy
because we give thanks.” The book can be
read in about 8 minutes. With a small group
sharing the pictures as you read is the way to go. With a larger group, bring props (a big
yellow paper sun, a flower, a tree leaf, a rock, a stuffed animal -a bird if
you can find one, a shiny silver star cutout, a bottle of water, and a big red
paper heart) to display or hand to people nearby as you read the pages about
the things which lead us to be thankful.
> Thanksgiving
begins with noticing what is all around you.
It is easy to overlook our blessings.
Remind worshipers of Moses noticing the burning bush, stopping to look
at it, and meeting God there. Then read
and discuss Elizabeth
Barrett Browning famous poem.
“Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God,
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.”
― Elizabeth Barrett Browning
And every common bush afire with God,
But only he who sees takes off his shoes;
The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.”
― Elizabeth Barrett Browning
> Especially
if it is the beginning of Thanksgiving week, assign worship homework. Encourage households or individuals living
alone to take time once each day this week to list things for which they are
thankful. Suggest that they do it at the
same time each day – before or after a meal, at bedtime, whenever works. Households turn it into a prayer by saying
together “we thank you, God” after each thing is named by each person. Individuals can add the phrase as they
identify their blessings. (If you want,
admit that you hope that by doing this every day for a week, people will decide
to keep doing it. You are encouraging a
simple daily prayer practice.)
> In the
congregation’s prayers include prayers for the long holiday weekend. Some children are looking forward to seeing
extended family members. Others are dreading a boring, nothing special
holiday. Those excited about family
gatherings often face undesired seating assignments at “the feast,”
uncomfortable sleeping arrangements, and long trips in cramped cars. All are worthy of prayer.
Commenters in in past years suggested the following:
> One of my favorite times with
the children was the year we learned how to say "Thank
you" in many languages from our congregation, and ended by using those words for
our prayer together: Dear God, thank you for your good gifts. Merci. Danke.
Gratias. Molte grazie! In Jesus we pray, amen.
> In our (pre-school) Junior
Church we open every session by asking what the children are thankful for, and
then singing "Thank you Lord for this fine day"
(https://www.communityofcelebration.com/zen-cart/media/Thank_you_Lord.mp3),
adding lines to the song according to what children have said. We have given
thanks for McDonald's, and even for the ceiling of our room. Why not? As you
say, "Thanksgiving begins with noticing what is all around you."
> For a YouTube video
that expresses it thanks in very intergenerational pictures and simple words watch below. Thank you Hubert Den Draak.
> Help families prepare ways to say thank you to God
at their feast by providing a list of suggestions. Go HERE for a starter list.
This Year’s Texts
> There are lots of groups in today’s texts. Children instinctively understand what it
means to define yourself by the group to which you belong. When meeting someone new children start with
their name and age but quickly begin naming the groups to which they belong. The unstated assumption is that if you know
which groups I belong to you know who I am.
Usually they name sports teams and activity groups in which they
participate. The trick is to help them
look to larger groups of which they are apart – in this case the people of
God. All of today’s texts call us to
rejoice and give thanks in the context of groups. Deuteronomy gives thanks for being among
God’s people and sharing their story.
Psalm 100 calls to “all the earth” and insists that we are “sheep of his
pasture” (a flock). Paul calls the
Philippian Christians to rejoice because they are a part of church and belong
with Christians everywhere. Alert
worshipers to these groups early in worship and challenge them to listen for
other groups and to think of groups that make them rejoice.
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
> Act out this scripture as it is read. Either have children (or all worshipers) come
forward placing baskets of fruit and vegetables on the Table or ask a single
household to carry in one large basket on the Table or on the floor in front of
the Table. A single family might then
turn, and read or recite the creedal verses.
Focus on gratitude for food.
> Arrange a large cornucopia of
fresh fruits and vegetables on a table at the front and pile canned goods for
the local food bank around the table on the floor.
> Create a
responsive prayer about all the phases of food production from growth to
farmers to deliverers. (There is a
sample on page 192 or Forbid Them Not, Year C.) The congregation’s response to each petition
is “Give us this day
our daily bread.”
> Invite children
to come forward to share apple slices.
Before distributing them, with the children identify everyone who was
involved in getting this treat to you.
Go all the way back to God who planned for the raw material and the
process that produced the apples. Then
enjoy the apples with a prayer of thanks.
> All The Places to Love, by Patricia MacLachlan book,
captures the connection to the land that underlies this text. In it a boy tells about all the places he and
members of his family love around their farm.
Read all or parts of it, challenging children and other worshipers to
think of the places they love most and where what happens there makes all the
difference in the world. (It can be read aloud in a little over 5
minutes.)
> In a year in which we are all especially aware of people on the
move around the world, the story of the Jews coming from hard times
in Egypt into a promised land could be paralleled by stories of immigrants who
have come to your country/community in search of a good place to live. People (individuals or whole families), maybe
in native dress, could briefly tell the story of their coming as they leave
vegetables on the central table. Conclude
with a statement of who we are that all worshipers can read together.
How Many Days to America,
by Eve Bunting, is the story of a family of refugees coming by boat to America. One guesses they came from Cuba, but this
fall children will hear in their story all the middle east refugee stories they
have heard during the last year. It
takes 8 minutes to read aloud – a bit long.
But, it might be a good way to recall the immigrant histories of either
Canada or the United States.
Psalm 100
> Remember
that children need to hear that God’s courts and gates are other words for God’s
church.
> Turn the
psalm into a congregational reading with many short lines that
new as well as experienced readers can follow.
(The two groups could be choir and congregation or two halves of the
congregation.)
! * ! * ! * ! * ! * ! *! * ! * ! *! * ! * ! *! * ! * ! *! * ! * !
Psalm 100
Leader: Make a joyful noise
to the Lord, all the earth.
Group 1: Worship the Lord with
gladness!
Group 2: Come into God’s presence with singing!
Leader: Know this! The Lord is God.
Group 1: Know this! We belong to the Lord who made us.
Group 2: Know this! We are God’s people, and the sheep of God’s pasture.
Leader: So, enter God’s gates
with thanksgiving,
Group 1: Come into the holy courts with praise.
Group 2: Give thanks to God and bless God’s holy name.
Leader: For the Lord is good;
Group 1: God’s steadfast love endures forever,
Group 2: God’s faithfulness is for all generations.
Based on NRSV and Presbyterian Book of Common Worship
! * ! * ! * ! * ! * ! *! * ! * ! *! * ! * ! *! * ! * ! *! * ! * !
> If you sing “All People That on
Earth Do Dwell” in the USA, have a soloist or the choir line it out for the
congregation. That is the way the
pilgrims sang it.
Philippians 4:4-9
> See
suggestions about reading The Secret of Saying Thanks, by Douglas Wood, in “Good
Thanksgiving Books to Read in Worship” at the beginning of this post.
> Jewish
midrash includes several stories about how people responded to God’s dividing the sea for the slaves to
walk through on dry land and then bringing it back together to
drown Pharoah’s army. It seems some of
the newly free slaves complained that walking through the sea was scary and
hard. They could only think about how
tired and dirty they were. But Miriam
and others, who were also tired and dirty, danced and sang songs praising God
for the incredible miracle they had just experienced and their new
freedom. After describing the situation,
ask which group was “right.” Of course,
both were at different levels. Then ask
who they would rather travel into the wilderness with. Younger children will not be able to follow
this. But older children can be drawn
into the possibility of rejoicing being more a matter of one’s attitude toward
what happens than what actually happens.
They can be helped by parallel examples - maybe siblings who get similar
sweaters from their grandparents. One
child is delighted and the other discards it as dumb.
> “Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart” really needs a festal
banner to be waved and walked through the congregation as the song is
sung. Make a flag banner featuring the
word “Rejoice!” or select a praise banner from your collection. Introduce it as a “festal banner.” Before singing the hymn, practice the chorus
once so even non-readers can sing along.
Also point out that the last verse is the same as the first and
summarize the message of the two middle verses with reference to “in gladness
and in woe” in verse 2 and the call to rejoice even at death in verse 3.
> Another way
to use this hymn is to have the congregation sing just the chorus in
response to each verse of Psalm 100.
John 6:25-35
> Maybe
especially on Thanksgiving when there are other symbols around, it is hard for
literal thinking children to make sense of Jesus’ talk about being the bread of
life as this passage is read. The bottom
line is that as good as bread/food is, God’s love and forgiveness are better and more
important. One of the few
ways to make that point to children in a Thanksgiving worship service is to
take the bread or wafers from the Communion Table and holding it in your hands
list things for which you are thankful.
If children are seated with you, invite them to add things for which
they are thankful. Then insist that
wonderful as all those things are, the very best gift we have is God’s love and
forgiveness. Note that every time we eat
bread we say thank you to God for that gift.
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