Eucharist = Thanksgiving
The Greek word eukharistia literally translates as “thanksgiving.” Whenever our Christian ancestors in the early church came together to celebrate the Holy Eucharist, they not only brought the bread and the wine used for the celebration of Holy Communion, but they also adorned the altar or holy table with gifts of bread, wine, fruit, and vegetables from their own fields as tangible, practical signs and symbols of their thanksgiving for God’s many blessings. These gifts were then shared with their fellow Christians and with all in the surrounding neighborhoods who were in need. As the church grew from an underground movement into a more structured body, this practice has evolved over time into a sharing of money or alms as our primary symbol of thanksgiving that we also use to serve God’s people and our neighbors, especially those who are in the margins.
This All Saints’ Sunday, Nov. 7, we will gather our commitments to giving (pledges) for 2022 at Christ Church Cathedral. During each Eucharist, we will invite all to come forward to our altar so that you, too, may offer a tangible sign and symbol of your own thanksgiving for God’s many blessings in your life. Please bring your completed 2022 Grateful Together, Giving Together, Growing Together pledge card with you (we’ll have extras if you forget). As you place your pledge card on the altar this Sunday, we invite you to do so with gratitude for all with which God has blessed you, with gratitude for your Cathedral community, and with prayerful intention for the work your gifts will enable us to do in loving and serving our neighbors in 2022.
—The Very Rev. Gray Lesesne D. Min.
|
