{"id":929,"date":"2009-11-17T03:01:57","date_gmt":"2009-11-17T03:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2009\/11\/a-great-thanksgiving-tradition.html"},"modified":"2009-11-17T03:01:57","modified_gmt":"2009-11-17T03:01:57","slug":"a-great-thanksgiving-tradition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2009\/11\/a-great-thanksgiving-tradition.html","title":{"rendered":"A Great Thanksgiving Tradition"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this post I want to tell you about a great Thanksgiving tradition. Yes, yes, I know Thanksgiving Day comes a week from Thursday. But I’m putting up this post in the hopes that there still might be time for some of you to act on what I’m about to recommend.
\nI\u2019ll admit to a not-so-hidden agenda. I want to commend this the tradition I describe in this post to you as something you might wish to add to your yearly Thanksgiving repertoire. I guarantee that it will pay rich dividends in delight and expanded gratitude.
\nI can boast about this tradition without hesitation because it\u2019s not something I invented. Rather, I inherited it when I came to Irvine Presbyterian Church. It was a choice fruit of the ministry of my predecessor, Ben Patterson. What am I talking about? A Thanksgiving Eve<\/strong> Worship Service<\/em>.
\nWhen I was an associate pastor at Hollywood Presbyterian Church, we had a Thanksgiving day<\/em> service. From 10:00 to 11:00 in the morning we gathered for prayer, song, and a brief sermon. Though I loved this service, the timing was inconvenient for many, who missed the service because they were cooking or driving to grandma\u2019s house. Thus, in my first year as Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church, I was pleased to experience the tradition of a worship service on the night before Thanksgiving.
\nFor the seventeen years I participated in that service, and it was one of my favorite events of the whole year. Why? Well, for one thing, because of the timing of the service, my celebration of Thanksgiving began in earnest at 7:00 on Wednesday evening. Thus my celebration of Thanksgiving was longer and fuller than when it started on Thursday morning. Moreover, I liked beginning my personal Thanksgiving celebration by remembering God. I have nothing against watching the Macy\u2019s parade, eating turkey, and getting together with family, mind you. But I was glad to give God first place in the festivities. It seemed as if I was finally getting things in the right order when it came to Thanksgiving.
\nAnother thing I enjoyed about our Thanksgiving Eve service was the multigenerational, family dimension. We included children from about four years of age on up. Many of them had a chance to participate, as I\u2019ll explain in a moment. The presence of children meant that we had to plan a service with their interests and capabilities in mind. We included music that they knew. The sermon was short and relatively child-friendly. It usually involved interaction with the congregation, sort of a whole-congregation children\u2019s sermon, if you will. With children present, the sanctuary was a little noisier than usual. But there was something wonderful about having the whole church family together on Thanksgiving Eve.
\nThe content of our Thanksgiving Eve service was pretty simple. In the hour-long service we sang hymns (including \u201cNow Thank We All Our God\u201d and \u201cGreat is Thy Faithfulness\u201d) and songs (including Matt Redman\u2019s \u201cBlessed Be Your Name\u201d and \u201cLet Everything That Has Breath\u201d). There were Scripture readings and prayers.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Perhaps the central element of the service was an \u201copen mike\u201d time when we asked members of the congregation to share briefly that for which they were thankful. Children expressed their gratitude for their parents and pets. On the other side of life, I remember when one man thanked God for fifty years of marriage. Usually there were moments of laughter, like several years ago when my five-year old daughter thanked God for paper. (She was serious and upset when people laughed. She did have a point!) There were often tears as well, as when an elderly woman once thanked the Lord that her recently deceased husband was in heaven and suffering no longer.
\nOur other special tradition involved writing on a small piece of orange paper shaped like a pumpkin. We received our \u201cpumpkin\u201d when the service began. Then, throughout the service, we wrote down on the paper things for which we are grateful. Near the end of the service we brough our pumpkins forward and placed them on the communion table as part of a giant cornucopia. In this way every person participated tangibly and actively in shared corporate gratitude.
\nFollowing the worship service we had an informal reception, with hot cider and snacks prepared by folks in the church. It was a pleasant time of conversation and shared gratitude.
\nI would strongly recommend that all churches consider adopting the tradition of a Thanksgiving Eve service. I realize that some churches already do this. But many are missing out on a fantastic experience.
\nIf you\u2019re a lay person in a church and you\u2019d like to encourage your pastor to adopt the Thanksgiving Eve Service tradition, you might send this post to your pastor. If it turns out that your pastor is unable to do this service because of family plans or whatever, it could easily be led by others.
\nI have lots of pastors who read this blog, so here\u2019s my personal word to my colleagues: Our Thanksgiving Eve service was not only one of the best things we did as a congregation, but it was also one of my favorite services of the year. I got out of it far more than I put into it (partly because my sermon was short, and partly because the service was so rich). Believe me, the last thing I want to do is to make your life busier and crazier. But I am convinced that a Thanksgiving Eve Service promises returns far greater than the investment of time required for planning and leading.
\nIf you don’t have time to plan a Thanksgiving Eve Service for this year, put it on your church calendar right now. You’ll be glad you did!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this post I want to tell you about a great Thanksgiving tradition. Yes, yes, I know Thanksgiving Day comes a week from Thursday. But I’m putting up this post in the hopes that there still might be time for some of you to act on what I’m about to recommend. I\u2019ll admit to a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-thanksgiving"],"yoast_head":"\nA Great Thanksgiving Tradition - Mark D. 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Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=929"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/929\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}