‘Giving thanks’
Greetings,
Let me begin by thanking people who sent birthday messages to me yesterday, emails and texts, music and video-clips, pictures of cats, trees and flowers, their own favourite Alan Bennett moments and news of their own birthdays.
One parcel came without any clue as to who sent it. Are you the giver of a book called The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer? If so, I’d love to thank you – but no rush to let me know.
Anyway, thanking people got me thinking about thankfulness. It’s a central part of faith, and certainly of Christian experience. Christians thank God in many prayers and nearly all services of worship. We thank God for each day, for creation, for blessings, for people, for love, for God’s gift of love found in a human being called Jesus, whose life is shared giving hope for all. We are grateful for inspiration, for art and beauty, for peace and rest, for companionship and, sometimes, for solitude.
There is indeed a movement beyond religion which sees gratitude as beneficial for our wellbeing generally. The more we appreciate what is good in life, take time to recognise it, attend to it, and be responsive to it, the more we are able to cope with the stuff we don’t feel thankful for. It is as if a basic attitude of being thankful provides a context which helps us find perspective. It may be that although we acknowledge that life involves pain and suffering, these can be approached in the trust that life is good, that creation is a gift, that our lives have meaning, and that we will be accompanied by love throughout. And so the difficulties of life are less likely to overwhelm us. We may not be thankful for the present circumstances, but we can be thankful within them.
Here is a list of things just from yesterday to be thankful for: cannelloni, daffodils, black coffee, Palestrina, the LRB, the community of St Andrews University, wool, Royal Mail, The Smiths, Morag Muir, a café in Landau in der Pfalz where we first encountered a drink called an hugo, The Windsors, friendship, whin, prayer, the telephone, mini hot cross buns, NHS staff at the St Andrews Community Hospital, sunshine, hungry chickens, shop assistants.
And a couple of pictures from yesterday exemplifying things for which I’m grateful.
Cherry blossom outside the St Regulus Hall annex.
Thank you for reading this far. I hope you have a good weekend. Here is a link for this Sunday’s service at 11 am for Palm Sunday.
Donald MacEwan is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: University Worship for Palm Sunday 5 April
Time: Apr 5, 2020 11:00 AM London
Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/125237520
Meeting ID: 125 237 520
Look out for an email tomorrow with the order of service which you may want to look at or have ready on your computer beforehand. I am also hoping to share it during the service.
And there will be news of Holy Week Services which we hope to begin on Monday next week, very probably at 8 pm each evening. These would have taken place in St Leonard’s Chapel, but they’ll be in our zoomunity instead.
And you may want to keep 5-6 pm next Friday clear for a remarkable Good Friday pilgrimage around St Andrews.
Take care,
Yours,
Donald.