We celebrate an annual Thanksgiving Service with our neighboring Baptist, two UUC and one Methodist Churches in town. It is so good to be with neighbors. Each of us preaches for a few minutes (3 to 5) and I was asked to lead a prayer of Thanksgiving. So I wrote one for the occasion.
Prayer of Thanksgiving 2021
Heavenly Father, we come together this evening in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, each of us baptized in His Name and sealed with Your Holy Spirit. We are all neighbors sharing our faith in Jesus and seeking Your will in our lives. We thank you for the blessings that have brought us here this evening.
We thank you for those individuals that have brought us to You. Often our parents, sometimes dear friends, who have helped us know your love and the promise of salvation in Your Son. Thank you for so many individuals, family, friends, and neighbors who have been instruments of Your grace in our own pilgrimage of faith. They have inspired us, helped us, and challenged us to grow in Your love. Bless those who are living and receive those who have recently passed into Your Kingdom.
We remember those who have gone before us that we have not had the chance to know, we thank you for their sacrifice and vision in coming to settle here and build a life and a community that we have inherited. We thank you for the stories that we still tell about them that deepen our gratitude, encourage our goodness, and enrich our laughter. Heal any wounds from the past, help us to humbly correct any of the excesses of past generations that may have blinded them and us to Your Will, and above all help us to treasure the lessons of faith, hope and love that have passed on to us. Let us honor their goodness and celebrate their faith in You.
Thank you for the blessings of this present moment, when we are gathered as Disciples of Your Son, celebrating Your blessing, praising Your Name and thanking You for the abundance of our lives. Help us to be good stewards of these blessings and generous servants to those in need. Thank you for the joy of being in the country. Help us never to take for granted the blessing of neighbors, the gifts of nature, the richness of rural life. And so Father, for all these gifts we thank You in the Name of Jesus and in unity of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Today marks the three hundred and thirtieth birthday of the Frenchman François-Marie Arouet, better known by his nom de plume, Voltaire (1694-1778).
Born into a bourgeois family during the reign of Louis XIV, the “Sun King” (r. 1643-1715), Voltaire suffered tragedy at a young age when his mother died. Never close with his father or brother, Voltaire exhibited a rebellious attitude toward authority from his youth. His brilliant mind was fostered in the care of the Society of Jesus, who introduced him to the joys of literature and theater. Despite his later criticisms against the Church, Voltaire, throughout his life, fondly recalled his dedicated Jesuit teachers.
Although he spent time as a civil servant in the French embassy to the Hague, Voltaire’s main love was writing—an endeavor where he excelled in various genres, including poetry, which led to his appointment as the royal court poet for King Louis XV. Widely recognized as one of the greatest French writers, and even hyperbolically referred to by ...
Happy Necrotising Fasciitis Day! Celebrate flesh eating bacteria, and Trinity Sunday by mixing up your sacrement with a nice macaroon, for today is also National Macaroon Day!
Anyhoo, it's also Sunday, around here, Meme Sunday. So time to vote!
Padre - Tom Miller invites you to a Coffee Talk, Speakeasies, Schmoozes, Tea Times, Afterhours and other gatherings.
https://teams.live.com/meet/93792382189049?p=DiBHsYfuECPgDrG7vO
2026 Coffee Talk with the ADD Irregulars
Thursday, January 1, 2026
6:00 AM - 8:00 AM (CST)
Occurs every day starting 1/1 until 12/31/2027
Coffee Talk - Daily beginning at 6:00 AM Central Time Zone - USA
White Pilled Wednesday - A break from the heaviness of news and current events to focus upon things more personal & positive for the first hour of Coffee Talk.
Afternoon Chats - Most Tuesday, Friday & Sundays 2:00 PM Central
Other chats as posted in the community.
