Thanksgiving and Gratitude

Thanksgiving is a special time of year when we pause to reflect on what we are grateful for in our lives. It is a time to express thankfulness and appreciation for the blessings we have received.

Being thankful and grateful goes beyond simply acknowledging the good things in our lives. It is about having a deep sense of gratitude and recognizing the value in even the smallest gestures or moments.

For followers of Jesus, thankfulness is often associated with expressions of gratitude towards God for His love, mercy, and provision. It is an opportunity to give thanks for the abundance of blessings that surround us. Biblical thankfulness teaches us the importance of giving thanks for not just material possessions but for spiritual blessings.  It should be an expression of gratitude towards God and acknowledging His goodness in our lives. It reminds us to count our blessings and appreciate the abundance we have been given.

Here are a few expressions of gratitude from some of our pastors in our Conference:

Kendall Churchill (lead pastor) – First Covenant Church, Youngstown, Ohio – I am thankful for the ways the men and women who have shaped my faith journey through kindness, patience, and wisdom; for the friends and neighbors who have celebrated the brightest days and comforted the darkest nights; for the simple pleasures of home and hearth, food and family, laughter and love ; for the cherished memories within my mind and hopes for tomorrow within my heart; for the mercies received in my failures and confidence gained through perseverance; for the blessings I see and countless more overlooked – praise the Lord!

Matt Ness (lead pastor) – One Church, Louisville, Kentucky – I’m grateful for the ways that our church has seen God be faithful over the past two years. I’m grateful in deeper ways for health, for my family, for laughter and for good books.

Justin Bowers (lead pastor) – New Community Church, Buckhannon, West Virginia – I’m thankful for my family – my wife and each of our girls – and how God has continued to shape their lives for him. It’s a joy to still be pastoring New Community after 11 years.

Noah Filipiak (lead pastor) – Mosaic Covenant Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan – I’m thankful for my kids. My oldest just turned 12 on November 21st and is in the thick of her first year of middle school. I got to baptize her in September at Mosaic. It was powerful to hear her testimony. I praise God for her understanding of Jesus’ love for her and for her tender heart for the Lord. It’s humbling to see my little girl growing up into a mature young woman. My middle daughter is 10 and I’m thankful for her love for the Lord and her questions about how to grow in her faith and how to spend time with the Lord. I love her energy, spunk, and spontaneity. My youngest daughter is 6 and I’ve always called her “my little ray of sunshine,” as she has always been so full of joy and light and continues to be. She’s our last “little one” and still carries that young child’s innocence, which is so refreshing.

Semmeal Thomas (lead pastor) – City Covenant Church, Detroit, Michigan – I have so much to be thankful for this year especially. The year started out wonderfully with our church being awarded a $150,000 grant from Forgotten Harvest, a local food bank in Michigan. This allowed us to totally renovate and remodel our kitchen for commercial use. We will probably end this year serving over 35,000 meals to our children and families in the community. The summer was wonderful, we had a transformative summer camp with over 70 children for five weeks from 9 AM to 4 PM each day. Teaching them guitar, piano, violin, cello, arts and crafts and vocal lessons in a nurturing, safe, and biblical environment. The Lord blessed us in July to be able to totally redo our roof of the church debt-free. My wife and I are on the tremendous journey enjoying the season of service with the Lord while watching our children and grandchildren grow and mature in Him. Currently we have just completed distributing 250 Thanksgiving baskets complete with turkeys this past Saturday. And finally, we are preparing for our Bright Moor Blue Jean Benefit Breakfast on December 2 where we celebrate and fundraiser for our community center Mission city. Thankful is the word for God has truly been good to us.

Mike Rice (lead pastor) – Faith Covenant Church, Farmington Hills, Michigan – I have SO much to be thankful for that it’s difficult to contain it all in 1 blurb, so I’ll share one recent event that I’m thankful for.  On 11.17 it was unseasonably warm.  My wife and I love to backpack so we went for a 1-night trip.  We also love our granddaughter and were able to take her, at the age of 4, on her first trip.   We all had a wonderful time.  At the end of the night with the girls gone to bed I was so thankful for getting one more night on the trail this season and for getting to share an activity that I love so much with people who I love so much.

Terri McGarry (co-pastor) – New Wine Covenant Church, Mason, Michigan – I am incredibly grateful for our launch team that has believed in US and caught the vision for our community. They have dressed up as elves, served tea to preschoolers, created outdoor Escape rooms, and made some amazing meals. But more than any of this their love for Jesus and commitment to him has sustained this time of birthing a new church.

Julia Sandstrom (teaching pastor) – Thornapple Covenant Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan – This year I am thankful for the rhythms of the church year that allow me to come around again and again to the good news of Christ coming to live among us. It is the second year for us in our new home, new city, new country, and we are grateful as a family to have the stability that comes with good rhythms of life.

On behalf of all of us at the Great Lakes Conference office, I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday and you continue to see God’s goodness around you throughout this next year and to live with a spirit of thanksgiving.