Today I’m blogging with a personal expression of gratitude. It’s nice sometimes to have a forum – like this blog – to be able to share things like this. This weekend I’m blessed to be attending the BCYAYM (British Columbia and Yukon Anglican Youth Ministry) fall conference, where almost 100 people have gathered together to celebrate the vibrancy of multi-generational ministry, to celebrate that this has been going on in organized formats here in BC for 100 years.
The theme this year is “Guardians”, and we are connecting our faith to God’s great creation. We are honouring those who have gone before us, we are delighting in what we see and do today, and we dedicate our ministries to helping provide a fruitful and healthy future for generations to come.
So today I say thank you – to God, for all of the gifts and blessings that are constantly flowing over me with such abundance.
Today I say thank you to the BCYAYM Council for welcoming me to spend this weekend with them, speaking on ecological theology.
Today I say thank you to the community here in Abbotsford – rather hilly for this prairie girl, in a gorgeous way! – and to the worshipping community of St. Matthew’s who invited me to preach this morning.
Today I say thank you to the folks working behind the scenes at this conference – the cooks who are providing abundantly fabulous healthy meals for all of us, cleaning our dirty dishes, working non-stop to keep us happily fed.
Today I say thank you to the worship team leading us in inspiring and inspired praise; to the glory of God.
Today I say thank you to the helpers planning the programmes, driving the busses, stocking paper products in the washrooms, seeing all the little things that need to be done – and doing them before the participants even notice the need.
Today I say thank you to my home parish family who allowed me to leave them on the Thanksgiving weekend so that I could be here; and to the priest who graciously gave up her Thanksgiving Sunday to minister in my absence; and to those who helped the practical ways to get me here – from dogsitting to airport drop-offs and pickups to proofreading my presentations.
Today I say thank you to the youth leaders, the supportive clergy, the parents/guardians/families, everyone who encouraged their young people to attend this conference when the nation is celebrating family turkey-time.
Today I say thank you to the participants – for their attention, their love, their commitment, their joy. They have been a profound blessing to me this Thanksgiving weekend.
Today I say thank you to everyone who holds in prayer this conference and it’s participants; to everyone praying for all youth ministry experiences; to everyone who has ever been grateful to know that grace is in action in the church today.
Today I say thank you as I experience, profoundly, the presence of the living Christ in my life.
And I pray that you find something to say thank you for.
By Tony Houghton October 16, 2013 - 1:44 am
I think the old BCP prayer book says it best in the general thanksgiving prayer “We bless thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ, for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory”
Amen
By PJW51 October 20, 2013 - 7:39 pm
I would think that we should always be thankful to God, to each other all the time .
If we not thankful and not expressing that well we are really in need of an attitude adjustment. blessings PJW51-