We give thanks for the feast of life
From our youth to our elderhood. 
We celebrate the tastes and the pairings: 
Of energy and passion,
Of wisdom and compassion, 
Of curiosity and growth,
Of loss and new beginnings.

We give thanks for the feast of love
That extends from kin and stranger alike.  
We set a table to host and to honor: 
The people we love and who love us in return
On days when it’s easy and days when it isn’t
And people whose work sustains and nourishes us, 
Who we may never meet and could never be without. 

We give thanks for the feast of food
That fills our spirits and our bodies. 
We praise all that is on our plates:
A beloved ancestor’s recipe handed down,
A new and daring creation,
The results of someone’s precious time,
An ethical statement in the form of turkey, tofurkey, and trimmings.

We give thanks for the fast as well
That calls our heart to refrain.
We set intentions to persist and to resist:
Histories that whitewash events and gloss over genocide,
Foods that are not rooted in fair labor or sustainability, 
Language that diminishes and divides,
Acts that destroy and do not create.

We give thanks for the feast of now,
The invitation that lies between each breath.
We practice the pause that gratitude inserts:
To allow grace to enter,
To allow wisdom to take hold,
To allow compassion to knit us to one another, 
And to allow all life to flourish. 

Amen. Blessed Be.

Written by Rev. Alison B. Miller
Artwork by David Snedden