We hosted the community Interfaith Thanksgiving Service last night and people are still smiling.
They should!
People from many traditions came to share how the universal virtue of Gratitude was experienced and nurtured in their tradition. The presentations were meaningful and thoughtful. The evening was joyous.
It was also timely.
The spirit of the time is isolating us. More and more reasons are found there for why we can't sit at the same table, live in the same community, or exist in the same world. "Different" is viewed as "dangerous."
Gratitude undermines that spirit and unites us. Gratitude reminds us that all is a gift and that gift is bigger than our differences. More than ever, it was good to be reminded that differences don't need to threaten us. They can enrich us.
In a time when "religion" is too-often experienced as part of the problem, it was gratifying to be part of a religious ceremony where people of different faiths came together to express gratitude- and got to be on the solution-side of things.
Thank you to all who participated, including the 80 plus folks who comprised the Community Choir.
Happy Thanksgiving!