Some thoughts on Thankgiving

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For many reasons, Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. It's funny, but for many years my mother has always read this prayer before our family Thankgiving dinner .  We are not a family that says any sort of Grace before meals, and when I asked her about the prayer, she said it was something she saw years ago and felt very moved by it. 

Now those of you who know anything about me, probably figured out I was raised in an observant Jewish home. And my mother was undoubtedly the driving force of observance in our family.

So imagine my surprise when I googled the first line of the poem and discovered that it was written by Samuel F. Pugh, a Christian Minister.  Now to be clear, I wasn't surprised that a Minister had written this poem, but that my Mom had chosen it to be our family poem of thanks. So I asked her if she knew who had written the poem. And she said that she thought it was by a Christian religous leader but that it embodied the social justice of her religous belief better than any other prayer she had read.

So I thought I might share it with you. It seems particularly apt this year.  Hope everyone had a nice weekend.

A Thanksgiving Prayer

Samuel F. Pugh

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"O God, when I have food,

help me to remember the hungry;

When I have work,

help me to remember the jobless;

When I have a home,

help me to remember those who have no home at all;

When I am without pain,

help me to remember those who suffer,

And remembering,

help me to destroy my complacency;

bestir my compassion,

and be concerned enough to help;

By word and deed,

those who cry out for what we take for granted.

Amen."

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