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St. Anselm of Canterbury Episcopal Church AKA St. Elsewhere Thanksgiving 2009 Dear Friends and Parish Family, “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise, be thankful unto God, and bless his name. For the Lord is good…” (Psalm100:4,5a). Thanksgiving Day is upon us and soon family and friends all across America will come together to give thanks for all the blessings in their lives, and share a traditional meal in the company of love. In the last decade I’ve seen an emergence of Thanksgiving holiday movies where dysfunctional families gather to celebrate the holiday, and all kinds of unhealthy but often comedic family dynamics are center stage. “What do we serve Brenda who is now a vegan? Maybe she will eat salmon sausages?” and so it goes. I enjoy these holiday movies and they remind me that to some extent all families are insane and dysfunctional. To quote Johnny Carson: “Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year. And then discover once a year is way too often.” At the end of the day, we still love each other and even are thankful for the craziness: it’s what makes a family “normal”. We live in hard economic times, very hard economic times. Many families will be struggling this year to even have a Thanksgiving meal. Of course, the corporate tycoons won’t feel the pinch but in general, things are not good. The jobless rate in the U.S. is the highest it’s ever been in the lifetime of my generation, and those that follow the boomers. For those who have lost a home or a job, and can’t make ends meet, it will be a tough challenge to feign the giving of thanks. To add insult upon injury, many struggling families who are up to their necks in debt now have to deal with banks going on the rampage and raising their credit card interest rates, at a time when a large segment of our population is already down on its luck. I personally decided to cancel my own Citibank and Chase credit cards for this very reason. I am not comfortable supporting a banking institution that puts a boot to the throats of others who are already down on their luck. I am thankful that I can survive without those extra credit cards. Maybe you have faced this decision in your own life and have come to the same conclusion. Times are difficult but we still can find plenty to be thankful for in our lives. Among other things, we can be thankful for our parish family and church, and that St. Anselm’s is emerging in the community as a parish that is more about authenticity than status quo. We are also a church family that can weather difficult times in honesty and openness. We’ve been facing many challenges and confronting very thorny issues but we have not run from these, and in the end we are growing stronger as a family. However, financially we are in the red to the tune of $15,000.00 in lost pledged income. This is making it increasingly difficult to pay our debts, make payroll, and keep up with the maintenance of the property. For this reason it is important that our members not fall behind on their pledges, and if at all realistic, to increase the amount. As we celebrate the blessings in our lives in a spirit of thanksgiving, I ask on behalf of the vestry and myself, that you prayerfully consider what your giving level will be in 2010. With this letter you will find a pledge card for 2010. Please pray before you fill it out, and please do not put it away for later in a stack of paper. Please put the pledge card in your prayer book or your place of prayer where you can see it readily, and pray for God to open your heart to giving with gratitude and a joyful heart, in the confidence that your own needs will not be forsaken. In closing, I would like to remind everyone that next Wednesday, November 25, is Magnificat worship. Our next Magnificat will focus on thanksgiving for people of conscience everywhere making a difference in the world, especially our unsung local heroes who make our world a better and more just place in which to live. So come join us in the Little Church at 7:00 PM next Wednesday and bring a small dish to share if you like. Pumpkin spice beer will be served J. Don’t miss out! I leave you with these final Thanksgiving thoughts: May your stuffing be tasty And this: If the only prayer you ever say in your whole life is 'thank you', that would suffice.
Blessings and Peace, Wilfredo Benitez+ The Rev. Wilfredo Benitez, See previous Logs |
