November 25, 2021,Thanksgiving Day

It was not uncommon for Christians who came to the Americas to celebrate one or more days of thanksgiving to God throughout the year.  This practice continued in many and various ways until states began to establish official government days of thanksgiving.  In 1863, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln made proclamation that there be a National Day of Thanksgiving on the last Thursday of November.  In 1939, during the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted to move the national celebration back one week to the second-to-last Thursday in November.  However, his proclamation was not mandatory and the result was that twenty three states celebrated Thanksgiving on the penultimate Thursday of the month, twenty-two states celebrated Thanksgiving on the final Thursday of November, and other states, following Texas’ lead, celebrated both “Franksgiving,” as it became known, and Thanksgiving as government holidays.  In 1941 Congress settled the matter by designating the Thursday in the fourth week of November as Thanksgiving Day.  The Episcopal Church has officially celebrated a Day of Thanksgiving in November since at least the 1892 Prayer Book.  The 1892 and 1928 Prayer Books state that “in November, the first Thursday (or, if any other day be appointed by the Civil Authority, then such day) shall be observed as a Day of Thanksgiving to Almighty God, for the Fruits of the Earth, and all other Blessings of his merciful Providence.”  The current Prayer Book offers propers for Thanksgiving but designates no specific day or month for the feast to be celebrated.

Our Celebrant and Preacher today is The Rev. Matthew H. Mead 

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Today’s In Person Worship

• Every Sunday at 8am the Eucharist (Rite 1) is celebrated in the Church.  The service is from the red Book of Common Prayer, beginning on page 323, and includes 2 pre-recorded hymns, and lasts about 45 minutes. Weather permitting coffee and tea are available in Garden afterwards.
• Every Sunday at 10am the Eucharist (Rite 2) is celebrated in the Church. The service is from the red Book of Common Prayer, beginning on page 355.  See below for detailed music information.  The service lasts about an hour.  Weather permitting coffee and tea are available in Garden afterwards.
• Healing Prayers are offered at the Bolton Altar following both services.
• Please review these Guidelines before attending worship at Christ Church.

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Today’s Live-Stream Worship & Sermon Archives

• You can view the live-stream of Sunday morning services HERE
• Sermon archives are HERE
• Our Sermon and other archives are here: https://www.youtube.com/c/christchurchpelham

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Sunday Offerings & Financial Donations to Christ Church

Christ Church is supported by the generosity of members and friends who donate time, talent, and money to the church to ensure that it is open, staffed, safe, and active. God has given each of us many gifts and we are called to use them to build up the church and to show the spread the love of God to our community. Click on the Donate Button for a variety of ways to support Christ Church, including one-time donations, annual pledges, and raising funds through FaceBook or Amazon.

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Today’s Propers (Collect & Lections from Holy Scripture)

The Collect

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.

The Old Testament

Joel 2:21-27

Do not fear, O soil; be glad and rejoice, for the LORD has done great things! Do not fear, you animals of the field, for the pastures of the wilderness are green; the tree bears its fruit, the fig tree and vine give their full yield. O children of Zion, be glad and rejoice in the LORD your God; for he has given the early rain for your vindication, he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the later rain, as before. The threshing floors shall be full of grain, the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. I will repay you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent against you. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I, the LORD, am your God and there is no other. And my people shall never again be put to shame.

Psalm 126 In convertendo

1 When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, *
then were we like those who dream.

2 Then was our mouth filled with laughter, *
     and our tongue with shouts of joy.

3 Then they said among the nations, *
“The LORD has done great things for them.”

4 The LORD has done great things for us, *
     and we are glad indeed.

5 Restore our fortunes, O LORD, *
like the watercourses of the Negev.

6 Those who sowed with tears *
     will reap with songs of joy.

7 Those who go out weeping, carrying the seed, *
will come again with joy, shouldering their sheaves

The Epistle

1 Timothy 2:1-7

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human, who gave himself a ransom for all — this was attested at the right time. For this I was appointed a herald and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

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