Thanksgiving that Connects

This Sunday is Thanksgiving and many churches will have the front of the sanctuary decorated with pumpkins, gourds, yellow and orange flowers and leaves and other signs of the harvest and fall colours.

We do celebrate this time of harvest and beauty, of work accomplished by our farmers and how God provides for us. But for children, many of whom don’t particularly like squash and connect pumpkins with Hallowe’en, how do we make this a meaningful opportunity to connect to God and to offer thanks?

After all, in our first world, it can be hard to remember that we aren’t owed or entitled to all that we have. I once heard a speaker say that “Gratitude is the attitude that raises the altitude of living”. Let that one sink in! Our ability to feel and show gratitude changes the rest of our lives, how we relate to others and to God, and impacts the world. Without it, we can sink into resentfulness, whining, envy and arrogance. None of those are pretty.

Here are some ideas for those looking to enhance this Sunday’s learning:

1. At a church where I once served, people were invited to bring in a favourite toy, object or picture of something/someone for which they were thankful. These filled the front of the sanctuary instead of the usual gourds and pumpkins. There is still time to e-mail families to invite them to bring something that connects thankfulness to something relevant and personal to them. These could be shared at children’s time.

2. Reinforce that all gifts come from God. Create a personal collage or drawings on a page with “I thank God for” as the heading. You could also brainstorm a list and write it on chart paper. Pray using the words that have been shared, thanking God for giving us all of these gifts. If you have the soundtrack for the musical Godspell or can download easily, find All Good Gifts and play the song during your learning time.

3. For older learners, encourage the use of a gratitude journal. Hand out dollar store or other inexpensive notebooks with attractive covers and encourage them to either keep the journals in their learning area to write in weekly, or to take them to write in at home. Follow up with your learners – what has changed for them as they have been used? is it easy to come up with things you are grateful for? how does it feel to write them down?

4. Neil Pasricha wrote The Book of Awesome to celebrate all the little things that happen day to day that make life great. What started as a blog has become a whole book series. Think about creating your own book or wall of awesome, with space to capture the ideas of learners and be sure to add “Thank You God” to make sure credit is given to the Creator! A large sheet of chart paper or paper roll could be put up on a wall with sticky-tack or painter’s tape. An “awesome book” could have both blank and lined pages in a bright binder. Both could be added to throughout the year and could fill time if an activity doesn’t last or church goes long.

5. With younger learners, you could celebrate all the things God has made, or the things they enjoy, by grouping items by colour or beginning letter. For example, get a sketchpad or chart paper page and find items or draw/cut out pictures or write the words for everything God has made that is green or begins with “a”. Keep adding to it and have another sheet for each letter or colour you want to explore. This could be another activity that continues throughout the year, filling in needed bits of time.

6. Older learners can write a thank you letter to God or to someone important who God has placed in their lives. Another option would be to invite them to share with the group about one or more people for whom they are grateful. They can be challenged to go up to those people and say thank you, possibly with detail about why they are particularly thankful for them being in their lives, and/or to give them a note of thanks.

We can never say thanks enough, and as leaders we can never model it enough. Be sure that you are thanking your learners for help that they offer you, attention that they give to you and ways that they build up your learning environment, such as by sharing and caring for each other. Thank volunteers and helpers, parents and staff who support what is happening in your programs. Most of all, regularly show gratitude to God in your prayers with your groups and on your own. We have too many blessings to count! Happy Thanksgiving!