Dear Askie,
Help! My congregation has a tradition of doing a Thanksgiving Eve service. I have so many things on my to-do list with Advent fast approaching, and the preparations for my own family’s Thanksgiving feel relentless. I do not have time to write a sermon. What can I do instead, that provides meaning, roots us in gratitude, and feels like a special alternative?
Sincerely,
Too Blessed to be Stressed (but Stressed Anyway!)
Dear Too Blessed,
Thanks for your note! I’m glad you reached out! The end of November is always a super busy time in congregations and in the personal lives of their leaders. Do not feel guilt or shame that you’re looking for an alternative to preaching at your Thanksgiving Eve service. My congregation hosts this service every year (although I’ve moved it to Thanksgiving-Eve-Eve, so I can travel to be with my family!), and I usually do not preach. I’ve curated a few gratitude practices that the congregation can do together, and I’m happy to share! Let me give you two suggestions:
- An Alphabet of Gratitude
For this practice, you’ll want to hang the letters of the alphabet all around your worship space. This can be done in a few ways. You can purchase wooden letters like these, you can use bulletin board letters like these, or you can simply print each letter of the alphabet out on a piece of copy paper. Instead of the sermon, invite folks to move around the room, and encourage them to come up with one thing they are grateful for that corresponds to each letter of the alphabet. Give people an opportunity to think through the gifts they have been given, A to Z.
This is a fun way to not only get people thinking about 26 things they are grateful for, but to see what others are thankful for, too. If you don’t want people to have to leave their seats, you can find (or make) pieces of paper that list all the letters of the alphabet. They can do this individually, without needing to walk around. Or maybe do both! Have folks start as individuals, listing their own alphabet of gratitude, and then have them move around the room, sharing what they are thankful for with the broader community. - A Gratitude Tree
Purchase cutouts in the shape of leaves, like these, or make your own. Even better, ask folks to make their own as part of the project! Provide red, green, and orange construction paper, and have people cut out leaf shapes—they don’t have to be perfect! Encourage everyone to write one thing they are grateful for on each leaf. Challenge them to fill out at least 10 leaves! Then, invite them to come forward and place their leaves on your Gratitude Tree.
You can do this a few different ways.
First, you could have a large piece of butcher paper with the outline of a tree on it. Provide tape or sticky tack, and people can stick their leaves to the tree.
Second, you could find a fake tree lingering in a corner of your church building (I’m sure you have at least one!). You can invite people to hang their leaves from this tree.
Third, you could have the congregation make the tree that night! Have brown construction paper ready and allow time. A few creative folks will come forward to create the trunk and branches of your tree, I’m sure!
However you do it, you’ll make a beautiful visual. Leave it up for people to see, or, at the end of the service, invite folks to take one or two leaves home with them that are not their own. Invite them to offer up prayers of thanksgiving at home over the next few days, lifting up what their brothers and sisters in Christ are thankful for.
In addition to these activities, here are a few other ideas to incorporate into your service:
- Choose a Psalm of Thanksgiving to read responsively.
- Share Communion, and spend a moment teaching about how the word “Eucharist” means “Thankful.”
- Sing songs of gratitude! Hymns like Now Thank We All Our God, by Martin Rinkart or more modern songs like 10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman are great ways to sing our thanks to God.
I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful time worshipping God, giving thanks, and being in community. You’ve got this!
Peace,
Askie
