Happy Fall Y’all! I can’t believe it’s November already! I love driving around and seeing all the streets and trees lit up with brushstrokes of yellow, orange, and red. You can smell a little whiff of a firepit from a cooler breeze, snuggled in soft sweatshirts and sweaters, and the feeling of thankfulness as we approach one of my favorite holidays, Thanksgiving.
The recent theme for our Sunday School lesson focused on gratitude and giving, which is a perfect message for this time of year. Our St. Alban’s youth sort food and pack up turkey boxes each year for families in need. We always have a large turnout of youth to help with this and it makes me so proud to see so many of them pitching in to help. These boxes are decorated by the children of St. Alban’s and have drawings and messages all over them. It is a beautiful moment to see that our children and youth both have a hand in making an impact beyond their immediate community.
Gratitude is defined by Oxford Languages as “the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness”. It is so interesting to read definitions sometimes because they often have greater meaning than we know. I always knew gratitude was synonymous with thankfulness, however, was pleasantly surprised to see “to return kindness” or giving included in its definition. In other words, we are grateful so therefore we give. As a parent and a Children and Youth Director, the biggest impact I can make is to not only share this grateful therefore we give ideal with them, but also to model what it looks like. The leaves
on our giving tree are always quickly taken away and we even get to visit with a few people in the church office dropping things off. Our St. Alban’s children and youth see their parents helping and giving and then they come to church and see their parish doing the same. How grateful I am to be a part of an intergenerational lesson for our children and youth. Please join me in this season of gratitude and giving to be so grateful, that therefore we give!
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