Today is Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday! Many Americans trace the origins of the modern Thanksgiving Day to the harvest celebration that the Pilgrims held in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621, however, their first true thanksgiving was in 1623, when they gave thanks for rain that ended a drought. These early thanksgivings took the form of a special church service, rather than a feast as is commonly known today.
The modern British tradition of celebrating Harvest Festivals in churches began, however, with a view to inviting parishioners to a special thanksgiving service where they sang old Victorian hymns such as “We plough the fields and scatter”, “Come ye thankful people, come” and “All things bright and beautiful”. These services helped popularize the idea of harvest festivals and spread the annual custom of decorating churches with home-grown produce for the Harvest Festival service.
Regardless of your tradition, on this Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday, let us, Salem, remember to be grateful for the ultimate act of love on a cross that gives to us eternal life. May that same thankfulness lead us to individual and collective acts of love and service that bring healing, reconciliation and love to all.
