General Thanksgivings
1. A General Thanksgiving
2. A Litany
of Thanksgiving
Thanksgivings for the Church
3. For the
4. For the
Saints and Faithful Departed
Thanksgivings for National Life
5. For the Nation
6. For
Heroic Service
Thanksgivings for the Social Order
7. For the Diversity of Races and Cultures
Thanksgivings for the Natural Order
8. For the Beauty of the Earth
9. For the Harvest
Thanksgivings for Family and Personal Life
10. For the Gift of a Child
11. For the Restoration of Health
General Thanksgivings
1. A General Thanksgiving
Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you
have done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the
beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love.
We thank
you for the blessing of family and friends, and for the loving care which surrounds us on every
side.
We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our
best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy and delight
us.
We thank
you also for those disappointments and failures that lead us to ac-knowledge our dependence on
you alone.
Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for
the truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast obedience,
by which he over-came temptation; for his dying, through which he overcame
death; and for his rising to life again, in which we are raised to the life of
your kingdom.
Grant us
the gift of your Spirit, that we may know him and make him known; and through
him, at all times and in all places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen.
2. A Litany of Thanksgiving
For optional use on Thanksgiving Day, in place of the
Prayers of the People at the Eucharist, or at any time after the Collects at
Morning or Evening Prayer, or separately.
Let us give thanks to God our Father for all his gifts so
freely bestowed upon us.
For the beauty and wonder of your
creation, in earth and sky and sea.
We thank you, Lord.
For all that is gracious in the
lives of men and women, revealing the image of Christ,
We thank you, Lord.
For our daily food and drink, our
homes and families, and our friends,
We thank you, Lord.
For minds to think, and hearts to
love, and hands to serve,
We thank you, Lord.
For health and strength to work,
and leisure to rest and play,
We thank you, Lord.
For the brave and courageous, who
are patient in suffering and faithful in ad-versity,
We thank you, Lord.
For all valiant seekers after
truth, liberty, and justice,
We thank you, Lord.
For the communion of saints, in all
times and places,
We thank you, Lord.
Above all, we give you thanks for
the great mercies and promises given to us in Christ Jesus our Lord;
To him be praise and glory, with you, O Father,
and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.
Thanksgivings for the
Church
3. For the
Almighty
God, you sent your Son Jesus Christ to reconcile the world to yourself: We
praise and bless you for those whom you have sent in the power of the Spirit to
preach the Gospel to all nations. We thank you that in all parts of the earth a
community of love has been gathered together by their prayers and labors, and
that in every place your servants call upon your Name; for the kingdom and the
power and the glory are yours for ever. Amen.
4. For the Saints and Faithful Departed
We give
thanks to you, O Lord our God, for all your servants and witnesses of time
past: for Abraham, the father of believers, and Sarah his wife; for Moses, the
lawgiver, and Aaron, the priest; for Miriam and Joshua, Deborah and Gideon, and
Samuel with Hannah his mother; for Isaiah and all the prophets; for Mary, the
mother of our Lord; for Peter and Paul and all the apostles; for Mary and
Martha, and Mary Magdalene; for Stephen, the first martyr, and all the martyrs
and saints in every age and in every land. In your mercy, O Lord our God, give
us, as you gave to them, the hope of salvation and the promise of eternal life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, the first-born of many from the dead. Amen.
Thanksgivings for
National Life
5. For the Nation
Almighty God, giver of all good
things: We thank you for the natural maj-esty and beauty of this land. They
restore us, though we often destroy them.
Heal us.
We thank you for the great
resources of this nation. They make us rich, though we often exploit them.
Forgive us.
We thank you for the men and women
who have made this country strong. They are models for us, though we often fall
short of them.
Inspire us.
We thank you for the torch of
liberty which has been lit in this land. It has drawn people from every nation,
though we have often hidden from its light.
Enlighten us.
We thank you for the faith we have
inherited in all its rich variety. It sustains our life, though we have been
faithless again and again.
Renew us.
Help
us, O Lord, to finish the good work here begun. Strengthen our ef-forts to blot
out ignorance and prejudice, and to abolish poverty and crime. And hasten the
day when all our people, with many voices in one united chorus, will glorify
your holy Name. Amen.
6. For Heroic Service
O Judge of
the nations, we remember before you with grateful hearts the men and women of
our country who in the day of decision ventured much for the liberties we now
enjoy. Grant that we may not rest until all the people of this land share the
benefits of true freedom and gladly accept its discip-lines. This we ask in the
Name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Thanksgiving for the
Social Order
7. For the Diversity of Races and Cultures
O God, who
created all peoples in your image, we thank you for the wonder-ful diversity of
races and cultures in this world. Enrich our lives by ever-widening circles of
fellowship, and show us your presence in those who dif-fer most from us, until
our knowledge of your love is made perfect in our love for all your children;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Thanksgivings for the
Natural Order
8. For the Beauty of the Earth
We give you thanks, most gracious God, for
the beauty of earth and sky and sea; for the richness of mountains,
plains, and rivers; for the songs of birds and the
loveliness of flowers. We praise you for these good gifts, and pray that we may
safeguard them for our posterity. Grant that we may continue to grow in our
grateful enjoyment of your abundant creation, to the honor and glory of your
Name, now and for ever. Amen.
9. For the Harvest
Most
gracious God, by whose knowledge the depths are broken up and the clouds drop
down the dew: We yield thee hearty thanks and praise for the re-turn of
seedtime and harvest, for the increase of the ground and the gathering in of
its fruits, and for all the other blessings of thy merciful providence bestowed
upon this nation and people. And, we beseech thee, give us a just sense of
these great mercies, such as may appear in our lives by a humble, holy, and
obedient walking before thee all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to
whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost be all glory and honor, world without end. Amen.
Thanksgivings for
Family and Personal Life
10. For the Gift of a Child
Heavenly
Father, you sent; your own Son into this world. We thank you for the life of
this child, N., entrusted to our
care. Help us to remember that we are all your children, and so to love and
nurture him, that he may attain to that full stature
intended for him in your eternal
kingdom; for the sake of your dear Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
11. For the Restoration of Health
Almighty God and heavenly Father,
we give thee humble thanks because thou hast been graciously pleased to
deliver from his sickness thy servant N., in whose behalf we bless and praise thy Name. Grant, O gracious Father, that he, through thy help, may
live in this world according to thy will,
and also be partaker of everlasting glory in the life to come; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
