PASTOR'S PEN
Reflections on Thanksgiving and Praise…
“Praise the Lord! O give thanks to the Lord, for the Lord is good….” Psalm 106:1
Growing up having both parents as pastors, you
can imagine that many of my childhood experiences were filled with ‘teachable
spiritual moments’. One of them (especially when I was in that ‘phase’ of
grumpiness and complaints when I was an early teen) was that of being thankful
and praising God. Whenever things didn’t go my way, or if there were
disappointments (both major and minor) – and I would be in that ‘foul mood’ –
my parents would always get on my case that God wants us to always be thankful
and that we should always give praise to God.
Oh brother.
Yes, I would truly think that. But underneath it
would be that sense of really wanting to always be thankful and praise-filled –
coupled with the sense of struggle that I actually couldn’t. Deep inside, I
wanted to follow God and the biblical command that we were to give thanks and
praise constantly. But there was also a deep frustration because I would try,
but never succeed.
Fast-forward several decades. Today, I would like
to believe that I have grown spiritually somewhat, at least enough to have a
little more insight regarding this thanksgiving/praise ‘business’. I’m not sure
if I have much to offer, but there are a couple of things that I have learned
along the way. In humility, I share them here.
The first is that thanksgiving and praise are not
necessarily tied directly to how we feel. Of course, it would be great if we
always felt thankful and praise-filled. But if we always waited until we ‘felt
like it’ – I wonder how often we would thank or praise God. But if you’re like
me, you’ve probably had the experience of coming to worship dragging your feet
– but then as you began to worship and praise God, you were filled with energy
and spirit. Isn’t it interesting that praise and thanksgiving does something to
us when we actually do it, even if we initially don’t feel like it?
The second thing that I have learned (and related
to the first) is that our praising and thanking God is not really for God. It’s
for us. God doesn’t need our praise and thanks – unlike us humans who long and
need to be affirmed and appreciated. God is Godself with or without our thanks
and praise.
But in our giving thanks to and praising the One
who is bigger than our own self-centered small ‘world’ that we sometimes get
stuck in – I often times find that it forces me out of my own little world and
see the bigger scheme of things. Sure, my problems may be affecting me greatly
and may be hurtful, and we do not need to disregard our disappointments,
frustrations and hurts – but praising God (albeit with hesitation at first) for
God’s goodness and giving thanks in the midst of that helps me to see that God
is indeed bigger than all of my problems. I can begin to see God’s love for me
and God’s guiding hand within the circumstances. I can begin to have faith in
that love and guidance again.
In our world today (and especially in this
economy!) many of us are experiencing difficult times and circumstances. There
are constant messages of anxiety and fear around us. However, with the ‘season
of thanksgiving’ just around the corner, how will we approach it? Can we truly
give thanks and praise?
Perhaps God, in God’s gracious provision, is
gently prompting us to heed the calling of giving praise and thanks – whatever
our current circumstances may be. And as we begin to do that, God will take our
praises and thanksgiving (however half-hearted they may be at first) and
transform them into something that is true, all the while transforming us into
people of true thanksgiving and praise.
What do you think? What are your reflections of
praise and thanksgiving?
Sincerely,
Pastor Grace Kaori Suzuki
DEACONS' REPORT
It sure is getting cold as we are well into the
fall season. I hope everyone is doing well, and revving up for the holiday
season. I, myself cannot believe how quickly it is coming. For those of you who
were not here for our church service on October 18, 2009, you sure missed out!!!
This Sunday was designated as the “Deacon led worship.” The deacons chose to
have our theme be about food. Let me recap a little for you all…
The way the service was set up was that each
deacon took a portion of a “meal,” (for example appetizers, soup/salad, entrée,
and desserts) and elaborated on that with examples of how they have seen food
involved with how it blesses others or they themselves were blessed in
ministries of our church they are involved with. We had representatives talking
about a range of ministries. Some included the Tuesday night Fellowship, Youth
Group, Summer Camp, Nursing Home Ministry, Thanksgiving Dinner, and JARF. It
was really shown how food plays such a huge role in our ministries and how it
blesses people. I think this is especially fitting to each culture and how
hospitality and servanthood plays a role in that. Service was followed by a
special coffee fellowship hour, where each Deacon mad one of the plase see the
Thanksgiving flyer insert or call the church. “specialty/signature” dishes to
share with the congregation. Yum Yum!
Speaking of food and how it blesses others, the
Deacons would also like to invite you to join us in our annual Thanksgiving
dinner on Sunday November 22, 2009. We always love seeing everyone there and
can’t wait for this year’s gathering.
Please continue to pray for those in our
community and world. If you have any prayer requests, please feel free to
contact the church.
COFFEE FELLOWSHIP:
The Deacons would like to thank the following
individuals who have contributed to the coffee fellowship during the month of
October.
Also, thanks for those who contributed to the
special coffee reception for our newly commissioned lay pastors on 10/25/09.
(co-hosted by the Deacons & Worship Committee).
The Deacon’s are aware there are others who do
not sign up on the list, but contribute. We would like to thank you all. Also,
if you haven’t signed up recently, I encourage you to sign up on the bulletin
board next to the social hall. Thank you in advance.
Kara Woo, Vice-Moderator
