To Whom We Are Thankful – v3

We must never forget, we must pay homage

praise within our prayer, of harvest, thankful

In our prayers, in stopping to give thanks,

certain to honor God, the Creator,

to whom we are thankful

from whom all, all of our abundance, our bounty

our good fortune flows

God is the beneficent author, Father

We must render unto God

all that we are thankful for

The source of all that is, what was,

from before the beginning of time,

the one who blessed us with this land

this place, this moment in time

As we gather together,

one people in each family

around our Thanksgiving tables

may we not be too quick, too easily distracted;

May we remember to whom we are thankful,

may we pause to thank God

from whom our blessings flow.

=====

edited November 19, 2014

To whom me are Thankful – v3

edited October 26, 2014

To Whom We are Thankful – v2

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2014/10/to-whom-we-are-thankful-v2.html

November 26, 2009

To Whom We Are Thankful

http://raymondafoss.blogspot.com/2009/11/to-whom-we-are-thankful.html

President George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/GW/gw004.html

October 3, 1789

(included in the bulletin)

President Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation,

http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/source/sb2/sb2w.htm

October 3, 1863

(read by Fred Kline, Pembroke Selectman and School Board member)

both part of

Pembroke – Allenstown Community Thanksgiving Service

http://www.pembrokechurch.org/templates/System/default.asp?id=40672

First Congregational Church of Pembroke

Suncook United Methodist Church,

Suncook, NH

http://www.gccnh.com/

Grace Capital Church,

Concord, NH

http://www.catholicnh.org/directory/index.cfm?intType=1&id=72

St. John the Baptist Catholic Church

Allenstown, NH

http://cs.newhampshire.com/blogs/hooksett_editor/archive/2009/11/25/There-are-many-ways-to-make-the-holiday-bright.aspx

Allenstown – Pembroke Interfaith Food Pantry

November 25, 2009

at First Congregational Church of Pembroke

http://www.pembrokechurch.org/templates/System/default.asp?id=40672

Pembroke Street

Pembroke, NH

&

Email received 11/25/09 from President Barack Obama

“Tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day, Americans across the country will sit down together, count our blessings, and give thanks for our families and our loved ones.

American families reflect the diversity of this great nation. No two are exactly alike, but there is a common thread they each share.

Our families are bound together through times of joy and times of grief. They shape us, support us, instill the values that guide us as individuals, and make possible all that we achieve.

So tomorrow, I'll be giving thanks for my family -- for all the wisdom, support, and love they have brought into my life.

But tomorrow is also a day to remember those who cannot sit down to break bread with those they love.

The soldier overseas holding down a lonely post and missing his kids. The sailor who left her home to serve a higher calling. The folks who must spend tomorrow apart from their families to work a second job, so they can keep food on the table or send a child to school.

We are grateful beyond words for the service and hard work of so many Americans who make our country great through their sacrifice. And this year, we know that far too many face a daily struggle that puts the comfort and security we all deserve painfully out of reach.

So when we gather tomorrow, let us also use the occasion to renew our commitment to building a more peaceful and prosperous future that every American family can enjoy.

It seems like a lifetime ago that a crowd met on a frigid February morning in Springfield, Illinois to set out on an improbable course to change our nation.

In the years since, Michelle and I have been blessed with the support and friendship of the millions of Americans who have come together to form this ongoing movement for change.

You have been there through victories and setbacks. You have given of yourselves beyond measure. You have enabled all that we have accomplished -- and you have had the courage to dream yet bigger dreams for what we can still achieve.

So in this season of thanks giving, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to you, and my anticipation of the brighter future we are creating together.

With warmest wishes for a happy holiday season from my family to yours,

President Barack Obama”

All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 33,650+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.