Category: From the Interim Dean

The Gospel in a Capsule

From time to time, people ask me which verse of the Bible is the most important. Any answer to that question is a personal value judgment. That said, I usually tell them that, in my opinion, the greatest verse in the Bible is the magnificent affirmation by St. John, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life” (John 3:16).

“That statement,” said Martin Luther, “is the Gospel in a capsule.” A perceptive theologian once pointed out that if all the Bibles in the world were destroyed and every page of scripture obliterated, if one Christian could remember that one verse, the most basic premise of our faith would survive. John 3:16 is the very heart of the Christian message.

This well-known verse is set in the context of a clandestine meeting between Jesus and a man named Nicodemus. As John tells the story of their meeting, it is obvious that Nicodemus has come to Jesus to discuss the process of salvation. Jesus talks to this leader about the miracle of rebirth, the mystery of the Holy Spirit, and the meaning of Baptism. At the end of their conversation, Jesus sums up the whole meaning of who he is and what his mission is in one simple statement about God’s universal love, humanity's response, and the promise of life eternal.

God’s Universal Love

Here as in most places in the sacred texts, the writer is not referring simply to the planet earth, but to the entire universe. God loves all of it! Love Divine was the motivation in the heart of God from the beginning. God’s universal love always goes the greatest lengths to find expression.

In Jesus Christ, God says to God’s universe, “I love you.” The only fitting response is for us to spend our lives finding ways to say, “I love you too.” God is constantly searching for us, calling to us, wooing us into that relationship that heals what is broken and unwell – that makes us whole.

Humanity’s search for God is the basic premise of most of the world's religions. Judaism and Christianity are exceptions. Both Testaments are the long record of God’s search for humanity – a quest that is grounded in God’s love. Listen carefully: Jesus does not say, “For humanity so loved God.” He says, “For God so loved the world.” That is the basic premise upon which the Gospel is built. It all begins with the love of God.

The Extent of God’s Love

When the New Testament uses the term Son of God to explain the impact of Jesus upon the human situation, the words are chosen very carefully. In the ancient mind, a Son was the extension of his father’s personality. He was part and parcel of his father’s personhood. Thus, when the Bible identifies Jesus as the Son of God, it is portraying Jesus as a projection of God. Jesus is not just a representative of God, he is an expression of God’s very being. God’s gift of the Son is the gift of God’s own life.

A seminary professor made the case that in reading the Prologue to John’s Gospel, one could substitute “Gift” for “Word” so that it reads, “In the beginning was the Gift…and the Gift was with God and the Gift was God.” His point was that from the beginning of time God has been giving God’s self and Jesus Christ is the fullest expression of that divine self-giving.

God’s Promise of Life Eternal

The first Christian teachings about eternal life were based on the thought of St. Paul. Paul believed that death was a sort of sleep and that we shall be resurrected when Christ returns. For example: “I would not have you ignorant of those who have fallen asleep” (I Thessalonians 4:13) and “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed” (I Corinthians 15:51). There is one occasion in the writings attributed to Paul in which he looks at resurrection in terms other than in the future. In it, he speaks of how in our union with Christ, God “made us alive with Christ…and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 2:5, 6).

In this exception, Paul is more like St. John, who looks at eternal life as a NOW experience. Eternal life is not just a quantity of existence, but a quality as well. Those who comprehend the depth of God’s love and receive the gift of God’s Son by the response of faith (believing) are already participating in eternal life here and now. In fact, the term eternal life is synonymous with abundant life, Kingdom of God, and Kingdom of Heaven – the central theme of Jesus’ mission.

Eternal life is a life in which we are constantly learning to love as God loved, through radical self-giving. Jesus taught that whenever we love like that, his joy is in us and our joy is complete. “Love one another,” says Jesus, “just as I have loved you.”

HERE is a beautiful rendition of John Stainer's famous anthem on this verse by the Choir of St. Paul's Cathedral, London.

I'll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
Interim Dean
St. Andrew’s Cathedral
Jackson, Mississippi

March 8, 2018
It’s All About Relationships!

Earlier in the week, the Ten Commandments came up in a conversation with a couple of other people. One of them said, “For some, Christianity seems to be a list of rules to obey.” I think he’s right. There are those who view Christianity that way.

But for me, Christianity is first and foremost about relationships – with God, with others, and with my own spiritual being. The “rules” God gives us are intended to help us cherish, protect, and sustain those relationships. Following the “rules” don’t make us worthy of our relationships; they help us abide in them.

For starters, God invites us into relationship not because we are worthy, but because God is worthy. And God always takes the first step, even when we falter. In the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), after the son wakes up to his own prodigal reality, he rehearses a speech that he hopes will convince his father to accept him back into the household just as a hired hand. When the father sees him coming toward home, he runs out to meet him. And before a word comes out of the son’s mouth, the father embraces him and restores him to his place in the household as a son and not a servant. Our relationship with God is grounded in God’s worthiness and not our own. The rules God gives us are to hold us close in that relationship as God's beloved daughters and sons.

Our relationships with others are healthiest when we place the worth of the other ahead of our own. Jesus demonstrated that in his life, death, and resurrection for us. St. Paul summed it up when he wrote, “God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). The heart of the Paschal Mystery is that Jesus Christ overcame death for our sake. Before we even knew there were any rules to follow, he deemed us worthy to act on our behalf. But it is the Savior’s worth and not our own that makes it possible for us to live in him. He calls us again and again to love others the way he loves us.

And, it is vital to our spiritual well being that we be mindful of our soul’s progress throughout life and aware of how all other relationships affect our inner being. Because we live in a material world, it is easy to forget that we are, first and foremost, spiritual beings. Things often block progress on the spiritual journey. Some people bring good into our lives. Others have a harmful or hurtful influence. There are spiritual disciplines and rules of life that help us be mindful and to monitor the soul’s well being.

To couch my point in sacramental terms, the inward and spiritual needs to be expressed in the outward and visible. It is the relationship that drives the behavior. Because I value the relationships, I strive to act in ways that sustain them.

I love my wife and I will never forget that she loved me first. Some important rules have been helpful in strengthening the bonds of our marriage for forty-nine years. But following those rules grows out of the deep love and respect we have for one another. The rules don’t make us love one another. It is our love that gives the rules their purpose.

Our parents taught us not to play in traffic because, before we knew it was dangerous, they loved us enough to give us that and other rules that protect us from physical harm. We teach our children to brush their teeth and other rules because we love them and want them to take care of their health. The Church commends spiritual disciplines because Jesus loved us enough to create the Church for that purpose.

The Godly Play Curriculum for children speaks of the Ten Commandments as “The Ten Best Ways to Live.” I like that. Because God loves us so much, God has provided these and many other ways to live in a sacred relationship with our Creator, with those around us, and with our own true self. The purpose of the rules is always about relationships.

I’ll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
Interim Dean
St. Andrew’s Cathedral
Jackson, Mississippi

March 2, 2018
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

This will reach you during The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. This annual observance always begins on January 18, the Confession of St. Peter, and continues until January 25, the Conversion of St. Paul.

Once we thought Christian unity meant all Christians should be organized into one big church. Today’s approach is summed up in a Latin phrase, In necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas, commonly translated as “unity in necessary things; liberty in doubtful things; charity in all things.” The phrase has often been attributed to 4th century bishop St. Augustine of Hippo, but has also been attributed to 17th century Croatian Bishop Marco Antonio de Dominis and English author and Puritan Richard Baxter of the same era. Regardless of who said it, it is worthy of contemplation as we pray and work for Christian unity.

St. Paul writes to the Corinthians, “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose” (I Cor. 1:10).

I wish other groups of Christians could know the kind of unity that exists in our Cathedral parish at this point in time. It is an inviting unity of heart, mind, and purpose that is in contrast to the day-to-day conflicts that plague us. This unity is not based on agreement in everything, but is similar to what St. Paul described in another message he sent to the Ephesians, “I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all” (Eph. 4:1-6).

Perhaps there is some way it can be exported. Let me tell you about a place that did just that.

On November 14, 1940, much of the City of Coventry, England was reduced to rubble by German bombs. The Cathedral Church of St. Michael and All Angels, at the heart of the city, burned with it. In the terrible aftermath that followed, Provost Howard wrote the words “Father forgive” on the smoke-blackened wall of the sanctuary. Two of the charred beams that had fallen in the shape of a cross were set on the altar and three of the medieval nails were bound into the shape of a cross. The people of Coventry found the grace to overcome the anger they felt toward their enemies who destroyed their Cathedral and almost destroyed their entire city. After the war, they decided to share that grace with others. Crosses of Nails were presented to Kiel, Dresden, and Berlin, cities shattered by Allied bombing. Out of those ashes grew a trust and partnership between Coventry and the German cities. The Community of the Cross of Nails came into being. There are now 160 Cross of Nails Centres around the world, all of them emanating from this early, courageous vision, and all working for peace and reconciliation within their own communities and countries. The Cross of Nails has become a powerful and inspirational symbol of reconciliation and peace.

The original Cross of Nails is now incorporated in the cross on the new Cathedral’s High Altar. The twisted arms of the High Altar cross symbolize the charred timbers from the roof of the original Cathedral, which were made into a cross to replace the original High Altar cross. The nails and twisted arms also symbolize Christ's suffering on his Cross.

Our own St. Andrew’s Cathedral is listed as a Friend of the Community of the Cross of Nails and we have our own cross of nails above the Chapel Altar. It is my prayer that our work for unity and reconciliation will grow ever stronger in the days ahead.

Give thanks to God for our unity and pray that we will be a light to others who seek oneness in Christ. Every shining example of a community of Christians living into the oneness for which our Savior prayed is part of the answer to his prayer “that they all might be one” and all prayers for unity among all God's children.

I’ll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
Interim Dean
St. Andrew’s Cathedral
Jackson, Mississippi

January 19, 2018
Will the New Year Really Be New?

As I reflect on the past year, with enormous help from the media, I'm faced with this question: Will the new year really be new? What's the difference between December 31 and January 1? Really? Will January 1 be any different from December 30 or June 30 or last January 1? Why is it we make such a fuss over the changing of the year?

The fact of the matter is that even those among us who are most committed to maintaining the status quo will be engaged in some degree of revelry on New Year’s Eve. I suspect even many of the "stay the course" brigade will have a list of resolutions. Our lists might include things like losing weight, getting more exercise, having a healthier diet, doing a better job of recycling, gaining discipline in attending worship and saying our prayers, spending more time with the family, reading more books, joining Facebook, quitting Facebook, and being a generally all around nicer person.

I have friends who are against New Year's resolutions. They believe having them only sets one up for failure. That may be so, but then any resolutions, goals, or objectives do the same thing, don't they? Any attempt at change, growth, or progress involves some risk of failure. I happen to like resolutions because I believe it is better to fail trying to do something worthy than to succeed doing nothing.

With or without resolutions, I ask again, how will January 1 be any different than December 31 or any other day?

If there is a difference, maybe it is one of perception. The slate is not really going to be wiped clean, but we like to try to see it that way. In so doing, perhaps there is at least some extra room for something new to emerge in our consciousness, in our pattern of behavior, or in our way of life. Maybe, just maybe, looking at this particular tomorrow opens up room for something new and different. If that happens, we may understand God's words to the Prophet Isaiah, "I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? (Isa. 43:19)"

So, I'm going make some resolutions. And, I'm going to look at January 1 as a different kind of day and as the start of some-thing new – a transition – and pray with all my might that God will have something to do with it so that it will not just be up to me. Maybe my first step, or yours, will create space for grace to see things through.

May your New Year indeed be happy and filled with blessings!

I’ll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
Interim Dean
St. Andrew’s Cathedral
Jackson, Mississippi

December 29, 2017
How can we name a love?

Greetings!

As I sit here contemplating the Christmas message, I am reminded that someone once said "the best way to send a message is to wrap it in a person." That's what God did in sending Jesus to us. In Jesus, the Messiah, we receive the message of God's love for us. In Jesus, God's redemptive work continues to transform lives – not just change them, but transform them.

In this context, for one to change means to do something different but to be transformed means to become someone different, a new creature. In Jesus, God Incarnate, "things which were cast down are being raised up, and things which had grown old are being made new, and all things are being brought to their perfection by him through whom all things were made" (BCP, p. 515).

That's the message for us this Christmas, and every Christmas. And that's my prayer for you and those whom you love as we join the shepherds at the manger to "see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us" (Luke 2:15).

These lines from the English hymn writer, Brian Wren, sum it up beautifully:

How can we name a Love that wakens heart and mind,
indwelling all we know or think or do or seek or find?
Within our daily world, in every human face,
Love's echoes sound and God is found, hid in the commonplace.

So in a hundred names, each day we all can meet
a presence, sensed and shown at work, at home, or in the street.
Yet every name we see, shines in a brighter sun:
In Christ alone is Love full grown and life and hope begun.

I'll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
Interim Dean
St. Andrew’s Cathedral
Jackson, Mississippi

December 21, 2017
Always Rejoice, Pray, and Give Thanks! Really?

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. – I Thessalonians 5:16-18

In his First Letter to the Thessalonians, St. Paul exhorts Christians to be people who always rejoice, always pray, and always give thanks. How in the world does one go about living such a life? It is a very important question to ponder since, as St. Paul says, it is God's will for us.

To rejoice does not mean simply to adopt a positive attitude, cheer up, or have a nice disposition. To rejoice means to be centered in the joy that comes from having been joined to Christ in the waters of Baptism and thus in his ultimate victory. That joy in our lives is born of the awareness that no darkness can ever overcome the Light to whom we belong. During his darkest moments Martin Luther clung to the words, “I am Baptized.” Our Baptism is a current event as much as it a past event. We hold it present with us as the gift of God – the gift that keeps on giving – the gift by which God says, “You are worthy of my love.” In every circumstance, this is all the reason we need to rejoice!

To pray without ceasing does not mean to spend our days on our knees with our nose in the Book of Common Prayer. Prayer on our knees, alone or together, using the prayer book is an essential part of the life we are called to live. Those prayers are extended as we grow in conscious contact with God during our routine daily activities. Brother Lawrence called it "practicing the presence of God." In this conscious, constant dialogue with the Divine, our offering of all that we see, do, and think encounters God who is constantly giving himself to us. God is with us. We are never alone. In every circumstance, this is all the reason we need to pray!

To give thanks in all circumstances does not mean to give thanks FOR all circumstances. Not every circumstance is a cause for thanksgiving. Many circumstances are not God's doing. But no circumstance is beyond God's reach. When we know that, we look more carefully to discern God's hand at work for good, God's power at work to overcome evil, God's mercy at work to heal and transform. What we see is not all that is there and gratitude opens our eyes to see what God wants us to see. In every circumstance, this all the reason we need to give thanks!

So, rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks always are expressions of a life that is conscious of God and conscious of the circumstances in which we live our lives moment by moment, breath by breath. Advent reminds us that our God is not aloof and waiting to come to us until everything is all tidy and neat. God comes to us in every kind of circumstance.

The truth is, the more we rejoice, pray, and give thanks, the more conscious we are of the presence and power of God at work in us leading us through the present with all its ups and downs and into a hope-filled future. For it is not the divine will for us to draw life from the circumstances, up or down, but from our relationship with God, the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer of all life. Even now during these days of Advent, God is coming to us in power and might to make of us more than we can make of ourselves. In every circumstance, that is all the reason we need to rejoice, pray, and give thanks! So, let’s do it – always.

I’ll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
Interim Dean
St. Andrew’s Cathedral
Jackson, Mississippi

December 14, 2017
Word Made Flesh – The Toughest and Tenderest Love

It is a happy coincidence that the commemoration of St. Ambrose, the fourth century Bishop of Milan, occurs during the Advent season on December 7. I say that because one of the chief contributions of Bishop Ambrose was his defense of Athanasian (orthodox) Christianity against Arianism. Athanasians affirm that the Logos or Word (John 1:1 ) is fully God in the same sense that the Father is, while Arians affirm that the Logos is a creature, the first being created by the Father. So it is appropriate that his feast day occurs during the season in which we are preparing for the coming of the Messiah because Bishop Ambrose helps us better understand what kind of Messiah we are talking about.

Ambrose may have written the Athanasian Creed (BCP p. 864), the first creed in which the equality of the three persons of the Trinity is explicitly stated. Episcopalians seldom recite it in corporate worship, but it is one of our historical documents and one of our theological foundations. Whether Ambrose wrote it or not, it is consistent with his theology:

And the Catholic Faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one, the Glory equal, the Majesty co-eternal.

The Messiah who came as a little child and died on a cross as a man is not just a messenger. He is Emmanuel, God With Us in the flesh. That was as incomprehensible a Mystery in the first and fourth centuries as it is today – the Word that was in the beginning, the Word that was with God, the Word that was God, “became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son; full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). The proof of it is a matter of faith. This Word Made Flesh, Jesus, the Messiah, matters so much to us because he is the ultimate expression of God’s eternal love for us.

His entire life demonstrates to us that God’s love does not shrink in the face of tragedy, injustice, exploitation, and alienation. Love Divine embraces everything that happens to human beings from birth to death. God With Us heals brokenness, overcomes oppression, and reconciles estrangement. There is no love in the universe that is tougher or more tender!

A meditation attributed to Bishop Ambrose beautifully expresses what God’s love means to us in these words: “Lord Jesus Christ, you are for me medicine when I am sick; you are my strength when I need help; you are life itself when I fear death; you are the way when I long for heaven; you are light when all is dark; you are my food when I need nourishment.”

I'll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
Interim Dean
St. Andrew’s Cathedral
Jackson, Mississippi

P.S. Several hymns are attributed to St. Ambrose, including the Advent hymn "Savior of the Nations, Come" (Hymnal 1982 #54).

December 7, 2017
Finding a Balance in Advent

It’s Advent. Advent is hard to observe in our culture, isn’t it?

The Church tells us Advent is a period of preparation for the Feast of the Incarnation, Christmas. Our faith tradition encourages us to make it a reflective time during which we identify with those who waited long centuries for the appearing of God’s anointed one. The liturgy for the Sundays and weekdays in Advent directs our attention to the wonderful gift that has come to us in Emmanuel and the promise that he will come again at the end to establish his victorious reign over all things.

Yet, here we are again with all those sights and sounds and smells that tell us it is time to be the world’s most accomplished consumers. Our culture encourages us to believe that the things we need and the things our loved ones need to make their lives complete can be bought for a price, and quite possibly must be acquired if life is to be worth living. The liturgy of advertising and shopping malls directs our attention to the near frenzy involved in getting there while supplies last.

I’m not really suggesting that we should not buy gifts or support our local merchants and workforce who work so hard and rely so heavily on sales at this season. I enjoy going to the mall and listening to the music in the stores. I like to shop for presents and believe it is a good thing to be thoughtful and generous with others as God in Christ has been thoughtful and generous with us in offering us his very life.

What I am suggesting is that the spiritual dimension of the season can easily be overshadowed. We need to find a balance and the Church can help. Go to the mall, after you’ve gone to church. Buy gifts, after you’ve left your gift at the Altar. Spend time shopping for the perfect gift, after you’ve spent time in communion with the most perfect gift, Christ the Savior. And then, after have a wonderful, peaceful, and blessed Christmas!

How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heaven.
No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him, still the dear Christ enters in.

"O Little Town of Bethlehem"
The Rt. Rev. Philips Brooks (1835-1839)

I'll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
Interim Dean
St. Andrew’s Cathedral
Jackson, Mississippi

P.S. Maybe some of your family and friends would appreciate an alternative Christmas gift, a contribution in their honor to a worthy cause. Alternative Christmas Cards are available at St. Andrew's before and after services and at the Welcome Desk during the week.

November 30, 2017
The Kirkin’ o’ the Tartan

On Sunday, November 26, we will observe the Patronal Feast of St. Andrew’s Cathedral. St. Andrew’s Day is officially November 30 and The First Sunday of Advent always is the following Sunday

St. Andrew's Tartan

This year, we will observe the occasion with a service called The Kirkin’ o’ the Tartan. While the Kirkin' o' the Tartan service celebrates Scotland and Scottish heritage, it is a truly a Scottish-American custom. Stories abound of the Kirkin's roots being in days of the Act of Proscription, when the wearing of the kilt was banned in the Highlands. According to the legend, Highlanders hid pieces of tartan and brought them to church to be secretly blessed at a particular point in the service.

The connection with St. Andrew the Apostle is that St. Andrew is also the Patron Saint of Scotland. The first Bishop of The Episcopal Church, Samuel Seabury, was Consecrated by three Bishops of The Episcopal Church of Scotland on November 14, 1784.

Plan to wear your tartan to worship on November 27. During the 8:45 and 11:00 a.m. services, we will bless the tartans. If you don’t have a kilt, vest, skirt, sash, tie, or other garment made of your tartan, just bring a swatch.

And, if your ethnic heritage is other than Scots, bring whatever token you have that represents that heritage and we’ll bless that too!

Now, a word about our Patron Saint. Andrew, whose name means "manly," was the first apostle of Jesus Christ. He had previously been a follower of John the Baptist, but when John proclaimed Jesus "the lamb of God," Andrew went with Jesus and spent a day with him. It is not recorded in the Bible, but tradition says Andrew was crucified as a martyr on a Crux Decussata, or X-shaped cross.

The Gospels record three episodes in which Andrew brings people to Jesus. Immediately after he responded to the call of Jesus, Andrew found his brother Simon (later called Peter) and told him "We have found the Messiah" (John 1:41). He brought Simon to meet Jesus. Matthew notes that Simon and Andrew dropped their fishing nets and followed Jesus as he was passing by. It was Andrew who brought a boy with two fish and five barley loaves to Jesus, who multiplied them to feed 5,000 people (John 6:8-13). Philip and Andrew brought some Greeks to Jesus who wanted to meet him (John 12:20-22). The example of Andrew inspires us to invite people to know Jesus Christ.

Here's the Collect for the Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle.

Almighty God, who gave such grace to your apostle Andrew that he readily obeyed the call of your Son Jesus Christ, and brought his brother with him: Give us, who are called by your Holy Word, grace to follow him without delay, and to bring those near to us into his gracious presence; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

I'll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
Interim Dean
St. Andrew’s Cathedral
Jackson, Mississippi

November 17, 2017
Thanks Be To God!

Our Thanksgiving Day service at St. Andrew's Cathedral will be at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, November 23. The Reverend Canon Jennifer Deaton will preside. If you are in the vicinity, please come. Come as you are, bring family, friends, or neighbors to this beautiful, inspiring place dedicated to the glory of our bountiful Creator.

Also, I want to encourage you to make your meal a true feast of Thanksgiving for those who gather with you around the table. The Book of Common Prayer of The Episcopal Church provides many resources to help us join together in giving thanks on our national day of thanksgiving. Our Hymnal also is filled with words and music to express our gratitude. I commend these worship resources to you and pray that you and those you love will enjoy a truly Happy Thanksgiving!

The Collect for Thanksgiving Day

Almighty and gracious Father, we give you thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those who harvest them. Make us, we pray, faithful stewards of your great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Prayers for Our Country

Almighty God, you have given us this good land for our heritage: We humbly beseech you that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of your favor and glad to do your will. Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought here out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in your Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to your law, we may show forth your praise among the nations of the earth. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in you to fail; all which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace: Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

A Litany of Thanksgiving

Let us give thanks to God our Father for all his gifts so freely bestowed upon us.

For the beauty and wonder of your creation, in earth and sky and sea.

We thank you, Lord.

For all that is gracious in the lives of men and women, revealing the image of Christ,

We thank you, Lord.

For our daily food and drink, our homes and families, and our friends,

We thank you, Lord.

For minds to think, and hearts to love, and hands to serve,

We thank you, Lord.

For health and strength to work, and leisure to rest and play,

We thank you, Lord.

For the brave and courageous, who are patient in suffering and faithful in adversity,

We thank you, Lord.

For all valiant seekers after truth, liberty, and justice,

We thank you, Lord.

For the communion of saints, in all times and places,

We thank you, Lord.

Above all, we give you thanks for the great mercies and promises given to us in Christ Jesus our Lord;

To him be praise and glory, with you, O Father, and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.

Hymn 397 “Now Thank We All Our God”

John Rutter's setting of “Now Thank We All Our God” performed by the Cambridge Singers

Words: Martin Rinckart (1586-1649); tr. Catherine Winkworth (1827-1878)

Music: Nun danket alle Gott, melody Johann Cruger (1589-1662); arr. John Rutter (1945-)

I'll see you in Church!

The Very Reverend Ronald D. Pogue
Interim Dean
St. Andrew’s Cathedral
Jackson, Mississippi

November 17, 2017