Sunrise United Methodist Church Phoenix in Arizona, listed ways to share gratitude at Thanksgiving.
According to the church, for many Americans, Thanksgiving Day brings up a lot of pleasant memories: a crisp breeze, the aroma of cooking turkey and baking pumpkin pie, and the noise made by fans cheering during a football game.
The church said this season evokes warm emotions.
It added that despite observing Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November, offering thanks to God for His bounties is a spiritual discipline that should not be restricted to just one day.
Along with increasing our waistlines, the holiday preparation and celebration can serve as a catalyst for developing a grateful mindset that will last throughout the rest of the year, it added.
The church said giving thanks is as important to our spiritual development as prayer, which 1 Thessalonians asks us to do continuously.
John Wesley stated this in his commentary on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: "Thanksgiving is inseparable from sincere prayer; it is almost essentially associated with it."
List of Gratitude
According to the church, people may fill a box for Thanksgiving with family or make a Thanksgiving box as a part of their preparations for the holiday,
The church said family members fill out pieces of paper with anything they are grateful for that day and place them in the adorned box every day.
When opened, the box will serve as a lovely Thanksgiving table centerpiece and a reminder of their daily blessings. It added anyone may continue to add to it all year.
The church added that can also serve, as many charitable organizations that help individuals in need increase their activity during the weeks preceding Thanksgiving.
On Thanksgiving, meals are provided to the hungry by food banks, churches, and other charitable organizations. Inquire about nearby opportunities to volunteer or donate by asking your pastor, the church said.
They also said people can spend some time alone thinking. Things become busier as the big day gets closer, the church said. Every day, set aside some time to express your gratitude to God for all he has done, it added
The church stated people can create a frame for Thanksgiving. It may include making a list of the things for which you and your family are grateful as they give them some thought.
Sunrise United Methodist Church Phoenix said a list should be neatly transferred onto a sheet of paper a few days before Thanksgiving so that it can be framed as a lovely decoration for the home.
It stated people may also possess blessings collectively, as many families will invite guests to share something for which they are grateful at the dinner table.
The church, citing Mary Jane Pierce Norton's advice in Thanksgiving Celebrations for the Home, should make a list of the meals that each person likes.
Community Groups
Sunrise United Methodist Church Phoenix's website stated that in order to end family homelessness in the greater Phoenix area, a network of interfaith volunteers and community groups must be activated to provide shelter, compassion, help, and instruction in life skills.
According to the church, it would enable families to restore their freedom and secure shelter.
The church said, "By utilizing their hands to do the labor and their hearts to pray, they may minister to people who are in need of prayer and envelop them in God's love."
Mankind has been creating prayer shawls since the dawn of time. According to the church, they provide comfort as they enfold and shelter and are inclusive and universal.
