Gratitude is the heart of Thanksgiving
On Thanksgiving Day, Americans across the nation pause to gather with family and friends in a spirit of gratitude. Thanksgiving provides the opportunity to reflect on God’s goodness and generosity in our lives.
Thanksgiving is a national holiday in the United States celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November to express gratitude for the harvest and blessings of the past year.
Key Facts & Dates
1. United States: Celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November (established) as a federal holiday by Congress in 1941.
2. Canada: Celebrated earlier on the second Monday in October.
3. History & Origin: The 1621 Feast: The American holiday is modeled on a 1621 harvest meal shared by the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony and the Wampanoag people in Massachusetts.
4. National Holiday: Writer Sarah Josepha Hale campaigned for 17 years to make it a National Day of Thanks, leading President Abraham Lincoln to issue a national proclamation in 1863 during the Civil War.
Common Traditions
1. Family Feast: A traditional meal centered around roast turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie.
2. Parades & Football: Watching large-scale events like the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade or traditional American football games.
3. The Start of Shopping: Followed immediately by Black Friday, kicking off the winter holiday shopping season. This is a long form text area designed for your content that you can fill up with as many words as your heart desires. You can write articles, long mission statements, company policies, executive profiles, company awards/distinctions, office locations, shareholder reports, whitepapers, media mentions and other pieces of content that don’t fit into a shorter, more succinct space.
At Greater Eleazer Baptist Church, we strive to provide a welcoming and inclusive environment for people of all faiths and backgrounds. Our community is focused on promoting love, compassion, and understanding, and we believe that these values are at the core of all major religions. Whether you are looking for a place to worship, to connect with others who share your beliefs, or simply to learn more about different religious traditions, we are here to support you. We offer a variety of programs and services designed to meet the needs of our diverse community, and we would love to have you join us.
At Greater Eleazer Baptist Church, we strive to provide a welcoming and inclusive environment for people of all faiths and backgrounds. Our community is focused on promoting love, compassion, and understanding, and we believe that these values are at the core of all major religions. Whether you are looking for a place to worship, to connect with others who share your beliefs, or simply to learn more about different religious traditions, we are here to support you. We offer a variety of programs and services designed to meet the needs of our diverse community, and we would love to have you join us.
They are following an incredible calling to care for the souls of people (Heb 13:17). There’s a weightiness to that calling that’s hard to describe—and Pastor Barrett fulfills that calling with faithfulness and joy.
Their work is never fully done. Even when they go home at night, they’re still on call at some level. Crises seldom happen according to our schedules.
They shoulder burdens few people know. In fact, they sometimes must carry them alone, and they often weep more over the sin of congregation members than those members do over their own sin.
They do much of their work “behind the scenes.” We see them publicly when they preach, but that assignment isn’t the bulk of their work. Many are the hours they spend preparing sermons, visiting the sick, evangelizing the lost, counseling the hurting, and raising up leaders.
They work hard at balancing their personal and family time with congregational time. Not all pastors find this balance well—and their family often pays a price—but most pastors I know strive to do this task with diligence.
They bear the responsibility of preaching the Word. That work requires seeking God’s face, exegeting and interpreting the Word, crafting a sermon, and delivering it. No pastor wants to misinterpret or mis-teach the Word; thus, their burden is great.
They must deal with critique and criticism. Sometimes it’s warranted, but often it’s not. Many pastors could write a book on the surprising, odd, often nitpicky criticisms they’ve received. Yet, most pastors I know hear them with grace.
They share all of life with their parishioners. Not even a family physician shares all of life – birth, conversion, baptism, graduation, marriage, parenthood, death, and every major struggle and celebration between birth and death. Only pastors have that privilege, and I greatly appreciate their investment in our lives.
Dear Lady Rebecca Barrett,
For consistently supporting your husband spiritually, emotionally, and physically...thank you. Your love is his greatest earthly treasure.
For filling in the ‘gaps’ at church, for noticing the little things…thank you. It makes a difference.
For smiling when your own heart is breaking…thank you. That takes grace.
For all of your sacrifices, both visible and invisible…thank you. God sees them all.
For being authentic, for not trying to be superwoman…thank you. People can always relate to real.
For modeling Godly living and for mentoring those who are young in the Lord…thank you. The next generation is changed because of this.
For navigating an often hectic and unpredictable schedule with graceful flexibility…thank you. You make it look easy.
For burying your own grief, for setting your own burdens aside, in order to reach out and minister to others in their times of sorrow...thank you. People will never forget that you were there for them.
For nurturing your relationship with Christ above any other relationship…thank you. It shouldn’t be any other way.
For leading through an example of servanthood, for serving with confidence and joy…thank you. You compel others to serve God with you.
For embracing the privilege and high calling of ministry, for saying “yes” to life with a pastor…thank you. You make Christ’s bride look beautiful.
"To see our church grow in biblical education and training; A driving force in our community and outreach serving the homeless, elderly, disable and the lost; shared by the love of God for us through us with others."
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8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.