“Come, ye thankful people come; raise the song of harvest home.
All be safely gathered in ere the winter storms begin.
God, our maker, doth provide for our wants to be supplied.
Come to God’s own temple, come, raise the song of harvest home (ELW #693)
Even though I have celebrated Thanksgiving in many different places and with various people over the years, it has always been an important holiday for me. Gathering with loved ones over a special meal, watching some football on TV, and looking ahead to the holiday season that follows reminds me that regardless of all the changes in my life and in the world, there is always much to be thankful for.
In recent years, however, I have become increasingly aware of the complicated legacy of this national holiday, especially among our Native American siblings. The romanticized version of the first Thanksgiving, in which pilgrims and Native Americans shared a meal in peace and harmony, is belied by the violent history of conquest and colonialization that followed. As a synod staff, we have committed to watching and discussing the Ken Burns PBS documentary series entitled “We Shall Remain”. This has helped us recognize why, for many, Thanksgiving Day is not a day for celebration, but deep reflection, and for some, it’s a day of mourning. For additional exploration of these dynamics, I invite you to read this blog post on “The History of Thanksgiving from a Native American Perspective”.
I share these resources and reflections not to make folks feel bad about celebrating Thanksgiving, nor to incite feelings of guilt, but to remind us that life is complex, and various things can be true at the same time. Just as many of our family gatherings include folks who are both joyful and struggling, hopeful and hurting, we need to remember that our human family includes a diverse constellation of experiences and emotions as well. I invite us all to refrain from our desire to gloss over anything that might make us uncomfortable, but to embrace the rich diversity of our human family and complicated truths of our nation and our families. Most importantly, I invite us to recognize that our God is big enough to hold it all, and that even though we may not be able to fulfill God’s vision for a life of dignity and compassion for all, we can still be grateful that God has not, does not, and will not give up on us.
In Christ,
Bishop Paul Erickson
