November Pastoral Letter

Dear Friends,

When I say the word attitude, what do you think of?

I remember when I was a teenager and I heard my parents say, “Don’t give me that attitude,” I knew I was in trouble.

I remember when someone warned me against going to a certain restaurant because the waiters had attitude.

Attitude typically has a negative connotation.

But, actually, the word attitude means “a settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something, typically one that is reflected in a person’s behavior.”

So, in other words, attitude can be negative or positive, but whichever it is, it affects the way we live.

This past month I have been doing a sermon series called, “An Attitude of Gratitude.”

I have been focusing on obstacles to gratitude, including: worry, entitlement, greed, and disappointment.

When we consciously try to let go of these things, then we can develop an attitude of gratitude which then changes the way we live our lives.

In the month of November, we celebrate Thanksgiving.  It is a time for gratitude.  But, with everything going on in the world and in our lives right now, we might not be feeling grateful. 

The pandemic may have given you a bad attitude.  So, how do we change our attitude?  How do we grow in gratitude?

One way is to keep a Gratitude Journal, making note of something you are grateful for each and every day. You may be surprised what you notice when you are looking for blessings you are grateful for.

You are invited to read and discuss with church friends in small groups the book Grateful: The Subversive Practice of Giving Thanks by Diana Butler Bass.

She writes, “To choose gratitude is not an act of dogged determination.  To choose gratitude is to hear an inner urging toward thanks, to be aware of the grace in life, and to respond.  This urging comes from what Paul calls ‘spirit’ and Jesus calls ‘heart.’”

She suggests one way to begin the practice of cultivating gratitude is to keep a page of grateful prayers by your bed and read one each morning.  Here are a few prayers of gratitude:

Awakening in a moment of peace

I give thanks to the source of all peace

as I set forth into the day

the birds sing with new voices

and I listen with new ears

and give thanks 

–Harriet Kofalk

Waking up this morning, I see the blue sky

I join my hands in thanks for the many wonders of life;

for having twenty-four brand new hours.
The sun is rising on the forest

and so is my awareness. 

–Thich Nhat Hanh

i thank You God for most this amazing

day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees

and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything

which is natural which is infinite which is yes. 

–e.e. cummings

For the freshness of this new day

thanks be to you, O God.

For morning’s gift of clarity

its light like the first day’s dawn

thanks be to you.

In this newborn light

let us see afresh.

In this gateway onto what has never been before

let our soul breathe hope

for the earth

for the creatures

for the human family,

Let our soul breathe hope.  –John Philip Newel

What is your prayer of gratitude?  You can borrow one of these or try writing your own or speaking your own.  It doesn’t have to be polished. It doesn’t have to be poetry.  All it has to be is prayer from your heart to God’s heart.

When I pray with the children during worship, I start the prayer with these simple words:

“Dear God, thank you for this day.“ And if that is all you say, that it enough.

And if you say a prayer of thanksgiving every day of November, by the end of the month, you will have developed a new prayer practice.  And chances are good that you will have a new attitude—an attitude of gratitude. 

With this new attitude, comes a new way of living.  You may find this new attitude makes you more loving and kind, more humble and appreciative, more grateful and generous.  Now that you feel grateful, you will be inspired to show it.

Scripture reminds us, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”  This is the season for us to develop an attitude of gratitude and generosity.  “God has made everything suitable for its time.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 11)    

Dear God, thank you for this day and for the blessing of being a part of the Community Presbyterian Church of Ben Avon. Keep us growing in gratitude and generosity, one day, one heart, one prayer at a time.

Gratefully yours in Christ,

Pastor Donna