Thanksgiving

More Information

Religious Education for children and youth happens during worship on Sundays. Children and youth arrive in the Sanctuary for the just a little bit and welcome in Sunday with a story and song. Then, they attend their own programs in the Education building. Learn more here!

If you don’t have a chalice, but want to light one, check out our Making a Chalice at Home page.

In person services are followed by coffee hour.

Sermon Audio

Sermon Text

Thanksgiving and Kitchen tables go together… so many stories have been created and shared at the kitchen table…generations breaking bread, passing the salt, carving their initials, dogs munching on the legs, and once upon a time babies being born and loved ones being waked…makeshift tables made from milk crates and tables that were created from the kindness of strangers…kitchen tables are the hub of the home, inviting one to just be…to let down our burdens, no fancy stuff like the formal dining room, a place where we can roll up our sleeves and bring our whole selves and share stories, the hard ones and the joyous ones… while holding a cup of tea, kneading the dough, shucking the corn, or stirring the soup, we create the stories of who we are, what we believe in, where we belong and who we belong to. We learn that in life there are no foolproof recipes when it comes to relationships, but rather constant change…

This morning we are reminded that we are the welcome table and that each time we gather together we have an opportunity to create communal alchemy, the proverbial stone soup, nourishment for body and soul. Because we are Unitarian Universalists, and because our liberal faith is rooted in the practice of hospitality, we bring with us a multitude of cultural traditions, we invite people from all walks of life.

Rituals are created around the table. The ritual of communion be it flower communion, water communion, or bread and wine communion, is celebrated as an act of remembrance of our interconnectedness and as an act of fellowship and community building. Another name for communion is Eucharistia, the Greek word for Thanksgiving. We might not offer communion in the shape of bread and wine, but what we do offer is spiritual nourishment, through community service, participation in covenant circles, singing, hiking, meditating, visiting the sick, teaching OWL, and so much more! We find spiritual nourishment in community.

We say bring the best of your religious, spiritual and cultural traditions. You need not leave them at the door. You are welcome here. As I look around I see lots of diversity, I see people who were raised in the Unitarian Universalist tradition, and I see people who are just beginning to explore this faith, I see people who attend both Catholic, Methodist, Lutheran, and LDS churches as well as this church, people who find meaning and spiritual resilience in the rituals and the healing prayers and the songs to Mary, I see atheists, humanists, pagans and former Baptists, I see people who consider themselves more spiritual than religious and find spiritual strength in meditation out in nature, or in here within small groups. And I am sure that I have missed many of you because I have not heard all of your stories yet. I hope we have an opportunity to share our spiritual journeys soon.

Sitting at the welcome table, the stranger becomes a friend. And we are given a new opportunity to practice radical hospitality. Radical hospitality is “ACTIVELY CREATING ENVIRONMENTS AND EXPERIENCES WHERE THOSE WHO ARE TREATED UNFAIRLY IN OTHER PLACES CAN FEEL WELCOMED HERE WITHOUT FEAR.”~COLLEEN LEE
But how do we do that in a way that is authentic, that resonates with the other person’s expectations, preferences, and values? Some think that our faith tradition is wishy washy, that you can believe whatever you want. But I think that because we don’t have a specific sacred text or dogma, it is more difficult because we are guided by our values. We are a covenantal faith, accountable to each other. Our 8th principle calls us to do deeper work within all areas of congregational life. To think about the ways we can become the beloved community we dream about.

Having a framed certificate that names us as a welcoming congregation is not enough. We need to create and share rituals and traditions that are welcoming, inclusive and respect boundaries. Being conscious of diversity and difference. Seeking input and evolving.

Some might believe that we already have the perfect table and wonder why more people are not accepting our invitation. If we are the table, then it must be dynamic, ever changing, adaptable, with many leaves to expand as we grow. If we are the table it means it might also have some scratches and wobbly legs. Like us, it has scars. It is imperfect because it’s human.
When we gather around the table, we remember. We notice the empty chair that once was occupied by a good friend or a beloved relative. In this community, we also notice the empty chairs and miss the friends who have left. Some left because it was time, due to a move or change in circumstances. Some left because they felt there was no room at the table for them. They left hungry and thirsty for community, for a sense of belonging, for true hospitality.

It is said that being a Unitarian Universalist is not for the faint of heart. It requires constant practice of our promise to practice preemptive radical inclusion, to become more theologically diverse, and to infuse every aspect of our congregational life with anti-racist, anti-oppressive, and multicultural practices. When we commit to preemptive radical inclusion we have to do the work, to prepare for those who have yet to arrive. But how do we practice what we preach? How do we set the table and create a menu that is not just our own traditional and familiar comfort food? We must be bolder. We must be braver. Brave enough to ask: Who is missing? Who is going away hungry and thirsty? How can we be more welcoming? Brave enough to ask ourselves: What could we have done to be more hospitable?

And how are we supposed to prepare for those who have not arrived yet? Remember that movie Guess who’s coming to dinner? I can Guess who is hungry and thirsty for authentic hospitality: Transgender people are still struggling to find community in UU congregations. Bisexual people suffer from invisibility while asexual, intersex, and polyamorous communities are wrestling with a progressive faith that does not privilege their truth. Very few African Americans, Asian, Latinx, and people from multicultural backgrounds have found a comfortable and joyous place at the table. The same can be said about our own youth and Neurodiverse people and anyone who does not conform to set expectations, most of the time don’t even make it to the table.

Ultimately true hospitality says there is no stranger. In her book “See no Stranger” Valarie Kaur writes: As a child we wonder about the mysteries of nature and if we maintain an orientation towards wonder as adults, then we might be able to look at stranger, at opponents even, and wonder about their lives, their suffering, their joys…Of course it is easy to wonder about people we love and like, but it is harder to wonder about people we don’t know… When we imagine their lives and listen, really listen to their stories, we might even begin to see them as a part of us we do not yet know…Guru Nanak called us to see no stranger, Buddha to practice unending compassion, Abraham to open our tent to all, Jesus to love our neighbors, Muhammad to take in the orphan, Mirabai to love without limit. They all expanded the circle of who counts as one of us. And therefore who is worthy of our care and concern.” Her words are a mirror of our own Unitarian Universalist belief and value of interconnectedness. We are kind people. We are generous people. We are welcoming people. How do we practice hospitality? How do we live into the welcome that we boldly proclaim? By Invoking our childhood wonder. By Training our eyes and our hearts to see no stranger and instead as a part of us that we have not met yet. Let us allow ourselves to wonder and listen. Come, sit at the welcome table, wobbly legs and all, and tell us your story. Let us break bread together as we get to know each other. We don’t offer a perfect table, far from it. We offer a chance to journey together, to learn and grow together, to find the ingredients that nourish your spirit, to share a communion that is holy because it is shared. Come come whoever you are, wherever you are on your journey. The table is set for you, and you, and you. Here at East Shore, let us make room at the table for everyone! Let us give thanks! Amen and Blessed Be.

Beloveds: As we prepare to gather for our thanksgiving potluck, I’d like to share Carrie Newcomer’s song there is room at the table for everyone:
Let our hearts not be hardened to those living on the margin
There is room at the table for everyone
This is where it all begins, this is how we gather in
There is room at the table for everyone
Too long we have wandered, burdened and undone
But there is room at the table for everyone
Let us sing the new world in, this is how it all begins
There is room at the table for everyone
There is room for us all
And no gift is too small
There is room at the table for everyone
There’s enough if we share
Come on pull up a chair
There room at the table for everyone
No matter who you are, no matter where you’re from
There is room at the table for everyone
Here and now we can be, the beloved community,
There is room at the table for everyone
There is room for us all
And no gift is too small
There is room at the table for everyone.

Amen and Blessed Be!