Pastor’s thoughts for October and November

With October we enter a season of gratitude.  Thanks for cooler weather, for roses blooming again, and for the pyracantha bushes showing off berries as orange as the pumpkins.  Thanks for the last of the summer crops –melons and tomatoes, and thanks for Apple Hill apples, and for the new greens that come with the first rains.  

Also in October and November we give thanks for the many blessings of people in our lives:

October 5th we celebrated communion with other Christians around the world.

On October 12th we celebrate St. Francis and animals around the earth. This year we will also give thanks for the explorer spirit of Christopher Columbus and the life-giving wisdom of Indigenous peoples.

On the 2nd of November we express gratitude for the saints who have led us through all the centuries, as well as the beloved dead in our own lives (All Saints and All Souls). We also acknowledge our kinship with Dia de los Muertos, and the ancient Celtic holiday of Halloween.  On top of that, we often give thanks for our own presbyterian heroes on “Reformation Day”!  

We remember our veterans on Veterans Day, November 11th.

The culmination of all these opportunities to give thanks to God for all that makes our lives precious is Thanksgiving itself.  Our worship on the 23rd will guide us in gratitude, and for those who want to join, a potluck Thanksgiving meal will be shared on the 27th.  

When we are worried or depressed, turning our thoughts to the things for which we are grateful, really does help.  One friend of mine always said, “1000 things went right today.”

As 98 year-old Benedictine monk, David Steindl-Rast says:   "So it is not happiness that makes us grateful. It's gratefulness that makes us happy" 

I also like this saying by poet, Maya Angelou: “Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.”

I wish you all a joyful, and grateful, autumn.