Thanksgiving Blessings

This is a Thanksgiving day that I will keep tucked in my heart for many years. It seemed especially poignant given the attacks on the people of India. (I continue to pray for the victims and the perpetrators.) The interfaith Thanksgiving Service that I attended included two Protestant minsters, a Catholic priest, a Rabbi, a Buddhist nun, a Bahai leader, and a lot of people who believe in reaching across differences to find our oneness. We sang "This is My Song' from  "Finlandia." This one is a really good version. The words are pasted below. Click here to watch and sing along if you're sentimental like me. 

This is my song, o God of all the nations, a song of peace for lands afar and mine.
This is my home, the country where my heart is;
Here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine;
But other hearts in other lands are beating, with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.

My country's skies are bluer than the ocean, and sunlight beams on clover leaf and pine.
But other lands have sunlight too, and clover,
And skies are everywhere as blue as mine;
O hear my song, thouh God of all the nations,
a song of peace for their land and for mine.

May truth and freedom come to every nation!
May peace about where strife has raged so long;
that each may seek to love and build together,
A world united, righting every wrong;
A world united it its love for freedom,
proclaiming peace together in one song.

My daughter and I also visited a local nursing home, where we regularly visit a friend with Alzheiemer's and two women who have had strokes. One woman, Grace, has been living there for a couple of years. She has no relatives to visit her and has not recovered her ability to speak. A few days ago, when I brought a birthday cake to Grace, I was surprised to find out that even though she has not been able to speak, she was able to sing every single word of Happy Birthday, perfectly! So today, when we went over there, my daughter brought her violin and played Amazing Grace and some familiar Christmas songs. Once again Grace was able to sing along with some of the songs. We all sang, held hands, laughed and had a fantastic time. Maybe our musical notes were not all in tune but our spirits were. 

Blessings to you on this Thanksgiving. Below is the prayer  from Interfaith Action's 10th annual Thanksgiving service.

For the laughter of the children,
For my own life breath,
For the abundance of food on our table,
For the ones who prepare our sumptuous feast,
For the roof over our heads,
The clothes on our backs,
For our health,
And our wealth of blessings,
For this opportunity to celebrate with family and friends,
For the freedom to pray these words
Without fear,
In any language,
In any faith,
In this great country,
Whose landscape is as vast and beautiful as her inhabitants,
Thank You, God, for giving us all these. Amen

This is my song   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCjuxePRyCo