Happy Thanksgiving! We will not be having a newsletter next week due to the short week.
I know that everyone is excited about the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. It is a time that we normally spend celebrating with family and friends. As we celebrate Thanksgiving this year, please keep in mind all that we are thankful for. This Thanksgiving, I am so grateful for our amazing school and church community and the support you provide for Holy Trinity School! Without you, we would not be where we are at today!
Let us be thankful in this season. Our school is so thankful for each of you who has shared your child with us, has donated to make sure kids receive a faith-filled education, has prayed for our success, and has sustained us in difficult times.
We ask that you continue to be with us and help us carry on this great ministry and mission of our faith making our school a place where all are connected to God in a greater way and that our children become confident learners and leaders.
As we celebrate the holiday of Thanksgiving, we can recall how important it is in the Christian life to give thanks. Scripture is full of passages about gratitude. The very meaning of the word Eucharist is "thanksgiving." Here are a few of my favorite Scripture passages about being thankful:
"I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds." (Psalm 9:1)
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (Philippians 4:6)
"Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." (Colossians 3:17)
In North America, one of the great autumn holidays is Thanksgiving. Both Canada and the United States reserve a day during the harvest season to give thanks to the Lord for the blessings he showers upon us. Through the years, this spirit of thanksgiving has overflowed to include gratitude toward other people as well. The holiday affords us, both as individuals and as a society, a chance to turn our attention away from the self-focused worries that tend to dominate our consciousness. Instead, we spend a day thinking about the rest of the world and how many good things we have received through the goodness of God's providence and the generosity of those who care for us. Gratitude opens our hearts and minds, refreshing them both and curing, or at least giving us a respite from, egoism.
Autumn is the perfect season for such a holiday. The abundance of the harvest always stirs up amazement and rejoicing. As hard as we work during the summer, the fruits of the earth and of our labors seem a bit more impressive than our own work could make them. The images of thanksgiving spark joy as well as humility: the cornucopia overflowing with fruits of the earth, the fallen leaves with their glorious but fading colors, the community of extended family and friends gathered around a feast-filled table. All that we have and enjoy comes from a combination of our own smarts and strengths and a whole network of people and factors far beyond our control.
Blessings,
Mrs. Longden
