Nov 21, 2021

TOUCHSTONE COMMUNITY CHURCH WORSHIP - Nov 21, 2021
Diana Butler Bass believes “Gratitude is the capacity to recognize the abundance of gifts around us.” As we enter the holidays in the second year of a pandemic, home and table gatherings might still find us in a state of yearning and worry over what is waiting for us around the next corner and into the next year.
Our scripture from the Lectionary texts, Matthew 6:25-33, remind us in our yearning and worry, to turn toward God in gratitude on our journey home. Our prayer in these exhausting times of wander and wonder, might read as this excerpt from “The Prayer of Thanksgiving” by Howard Thurman, (1899–1981).

Today, I make my Sacrament of Thanksgiving.
I begin with the simple things of my days:
Fresh air to breathe,
Cool water to drink,
The taste of food,
The protection of houses and clothes,
The comforts of home.
For all these, I make an act of Thanksgiving this day.

Choosing gratitude, seeing and deep knowing of God’s abundant gifts, provide grounding in the journey of preparation during the season of Advent though which we are about to embark together. God draws near and makes a home on earth. Sacred ground is all around us, at the table of grace and in all creation.
Peach and grace — Pastor Kerry Kirtley