“Appreciation can make a day — even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.” Margaret Cousins, Suffragist

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. What typically would be a household full of friends is this year instead an intimate gathering of us and the dog:) We’ll still cook all day, have a 3pm toast with the neighbors on our block, and will also begin our day with our annual Family Turkey Trot in Golden Gate Park. Although this year’s Trot consists of a virtual component, it does still feel like a San Francisco community event, for which I am grateful.

Speaking of gratitude, check out Chris Cornell’s acoustic cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Thank You” here. His angelic voice does justice to Robert Plant’s lyrics of love and appreciation. May Chris rest in peace.

I will spend time in prayer and reflection this weekend, offering thanks for all those who risk their lives in service to fighting off this pandemic. I pray that those who are ill or have lost their lives may find peace. And I’ll spend lots of time outdoors, including heading to the beach on Friday.

I hope that you also may be able to enjoy this long weekend ahead, and that you too can be in community and in communion with that which grounds you. Stay healthy!

Thanksgiving Prayer – Catholic Health Association

God of all blessings, source of all life, giver of all grace:
We thank you for the gift of life:
for the breath that sustains life,
for the food of this earth that nurtures life,
for the life-giving love of family and friends.

We thank you for the mystery of creation:
for the beauty of the Earth that the eye can see,
for the unfolding universe that draws us beyond our imaginings.

We thank you for the communities to which we belong:
for families, for friends,
for neighbors and for companions at work.

We thank you for the strangers who welcome us into their lives and whom we invite to be part of ours.

We thank you for our brothers and sisters of all ages, all races, all nations and all faiths.

We thank you for the multitude of ways that you call us to steward the gifts of creation and to serve others in your name.

We thank you for this day, for the companionship we share and the bountiful goodness of the bread we break together.

God of all goodness, we pray in thanks for your presence among us however  we gather together, and your promise to be with us now and always.  AMEN.