Gratitude is so often the theme for November. This year, we’re practicing nourishing gratitude. What an interesting turn of phrase. I’m used to being grateful for the nourishment I receive, being nourished by the experience of giving thanks, and feeling nourished when people thank me. To nourish gratitude is to give even more life to each of these experiences. I want to highlight two specific opportunities to do this.
First, in honor of Indigenous Heritage Month, we will voice gratitude for the Kanza people, starting with a couple of opportunities next weekend (see calendar) and culminating in a Sunday service at the end of the month. This season can easily be painful for indigenous Americans when a “grateful Indian” mythology writes over the actual history of violence and theft. It is our responsibility as people of faith to nourish honest, authentic, courageous, and creative gratitude for the land and the people of the land, including ancestors and present-day communities that belong here.
Second, we will hold our third annual Interfaith Thanks-giving on Sunday evening, November 23rd (see calendar). We’ve been intentional about scheduling it ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday but referring to it as a thanks-giving service to orient us to spiritual practice as opposed to the commercialized holiday. This semi-annual tradition is stewarded by a vibrant group of Manhattan’s women religious leaders who I’m pleased to call my friends. This fall we finally sat down to articulate what we’re doing and why, and I’m excited to be able to pass along our conclusions. Our mission is to build a community of communities with shared values within which we create multireligious experiences of gratitude that honor everyone as deserving of love. Here are those shared values:
- Egalitarianism / Equity
- Inclusivity
- Hope
- Compassion
- Gratitude transcending dogma
- B’tselem Elohim / Imago Dei / Inherent worthiness of all people
- Care for creation / honoring the earth
- Mutual care and respect
Several of us serve as the leadership team, scheduling and planning services. We move among locations for each service and update our leadership, mission, and values by consent. After our first service, we realized we wanted to come together again before a full year went by, and so we added another service around Earth Day in the spring.
This year, Interfaith Thanks-giving will be held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. This felt like the perfect time to raise funds for Happy Kitchen, the Tuesday and Friday free breakfast offered at St. Paul’s and staffed by both St. Paul’s and UUFM volunteers. I hope UUFM members will nourish gratitude for the Happy Kitchen community not just by donating money but by attending the service and building relationships across our congregations.
As I write, SNAP benefits are lapsing amid the continued government shutdown and attack on social services. The erasure of DEI initiatives has become old news like the countless episodes of erasure that have characterized our nation’s history. In this climate of scarcity, intentional nourishment of our community of communities is all the more important. We come together not to circle the wagons but to more effectively organize our generosity. Let us remember that we have what we need and the capacity to share.