- Thanksgiving service, Thursday November 22nd, 1979, Duke Chapel. (slow organ music) (dramatic organ music) (gentle organ music) (dramatic organ music) (gentle organ music) (dramatic organ music) (gentle organ music) (dramatic organ music) (gentle organ music) (dramatic organ music) (gentle organ music) (dramatic organ music) (gentle organ music) (dramatic organ music) (gentle organ music) (dramatic organ music) (gentle organ music) (dramatic organ music) (gentle organ music) (dramatic organ music) (gentle organ music) (upbeat organ music) 

- Please stand. (congregation shuffling) God, be merciful unto us and bless us. 

- Cause your face to shine on us, oh Lord. 

- Then, let us worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. 

- Let us worship God in spirit and in truth. 

- Our hymn is Number 21 from our hymn book, please join us in singing this hymn. (upbeat organ music) (congregation softly singing) Let us pray from our bulletin in our hands. Most Gracious God, by who's appointment the seasons come and go. And, who makes the fruits of the earth to minister to the needs of all people. We offer You our thanksgivings, that You have brought us through the course of another year. And, that according to Your promise, seed time and harvest have not failed. At the remembrance of Your life-sustaining power, we offer unto You ourselves, and pray that as we are fed by Your Spirit, we may be instruments of love throughout the world. Oh, God, we praise You and give thanks to You for Your bountiful providence. For all the blessings, and all the hopes of life, above all we praise and adore You, for the light which shines in the darkness. Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Let the memory of Your goodness fill our hearts with joy and thanks, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen. Let us hear the lessons as our outline on our bulletin before us. From the Old Testament: Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He's good, for His steadfast love endures forever. Oh, give thanks to the God of gods, for His steadfast love endures forever. Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords, for His steadfast love endures forever. To Him alone does great wonders, for His steadfast love endures forever. To Him, who by understanding made the heavens, for His steadfast love endures forever. To Him who spread out the earth upon the waters, for His steadfast love endures forever. It is He who remembered us in our low estate, for His steadfast love endures forever. And, rescued us from our fools, for His steadfast love endures forever. He who gives food to all flesh, for His steadfast love endures forever. Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven, for His steadfast love endures forever. And, from the epistle: So we are always of good courage, for we know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord. For, we walk by faith and not by sight, we are of good courage. And, we would rather be away from the body, and at home with the Lord. So, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For, we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive good or evil, according to what he has done in the body. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but what we are is known to God. And, I hope is known also to your conscious. We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you cause to be proud of us, so that you may be able to answer those who pride themselves on man's position, and not on his heart. And, please stand for the reading from the Gospel: And, he told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully, "and he thought to himself, "'What shall I do? "'I have nowhere to store my crops.' "And, he said, 'I will do this. "'I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, "'and there I will store my grain and my goods. (baby crying) "'And, I will say to my soul, "'"Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years, "'"Take your ease, eat, drink and be merry."' "But, God said to him, "'Fool, this night your soul is required of you. "'And, the things you have prepared, whose will they be? "'So is he who lays up treasure for himself, "'and is not rich toward God.' And he said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, "what you shall eat, about your body what you shall put on, "for life is more than food, "and the body more than clothing. "Consider the ravens, they neither sow nor reap. "They have neither storehouse nor barn, "yet God fees them. "Of how much more value are you than birds? "And which of you by being anxious can add a cubit "to his span of life? "If then, you are not able to do as small a thing as that, "why are you anxious about the rest? "Consider the lilies, how they grow. "They neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, "even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed "like one of these. "But, if God so clothes the grass which is alive "in the field today, and tomorrow is gone into the oven, "how much more will he clothe you, oh men of little faith? "And, do not seek what you are to eat "and what you are to drink, nor be of anxious mind, "for all the nations, the world, seek these things, "and your Father knows you need them. "Instead, seek His Kingdom, "and these things shall be yours as well." We shall sing now from 792 in our hymnbook, the Gloria Patri. (upbeat organ music) (congregation softly singing) 

- Be seated, please. (priest clearing throat) In view of circumstances, as they have changed significantly in the last few days, I share with you this morning not a meditation entitled, "Thank God, Thank God for Life." But, a meditation simply entitled, "Thanksgiving Meditation, November 22, 1979." The verse of scripture that I would like to use is found in Psalms 24, verse one. "The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof. "The world and those who dwell therein." In the name of the Lord our God who creates us, redeems us, and sustains us, Amen. Thanksgiving Day 1979 is a grave moment for all of us in the United States. This day, indeed, is a serious and perilous moment for all of us on the earth. We have not lived in such a volatile, threatening, dangerous moment as this, since World War Two ended. Surely, life-threatening forces are swirling around us, threatening to overpower us and engulf us in frightening, fearful ways. Thanksgiving Day, for those who have lived before us, and for us, has been a time for giving thanks. So it is, today. But we come to give thanks today with fresh and disturbing scenes in our minds, and deep heaviness on our heart. Thanksgiving for us in this country is a national holiday, it is a time for both sacred and secular remembrance and recommitment. Remembrance of how God has blessed us and sustained us in the past, and recommitment to the heritage and values that have had and still have ultimate significance to us: freedom, human dignity, sacrifice. Thanksgiving Day 1979 is a time of remembrance. A time for us to remind ourselves of our heritage as Americans, our personal, political and spiritual heritage. This is, still, the land of the free, and the home of the brave. Our heritage has assured us of freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly. Our heritage is great, it is important to all of us, to each of us. It is our very life, our past, our present and our future. We know and experience freedom, freedom as a people, in this country as in no other country on the face of the earth today. So let us, one-by-one and altogether, give thanks to God for the freedoms we are privileged to know and to live. Thanksgiving Day 1979 is a moment of national concern. Concern not just over the burning of our flags, though that has not been seen without resentment. Concern not just over the epithets thrown at our president and our country, though that has been embarrassing. Concern not just over the hatred and venom that have poured out toward us, though that has been disturbing. Concern, surely, not just over the loss of 5% of our oil and energy supplies, though there was a point just a few days ago, when that seemed awfully, awfully important. Concern not just over the violation of international law and the breach of international agreements, though that may indeed be threatening to the whole world. Concern not just over the seizure of buildings and grounds and records, though that may be both revealing and damaging. My friends in Christ, Thanksgiving Day 1979 is a moment of national concern for us, for all of us. Concern because the very lives and wellbeing of our people have been threatened. Concern, surely, for the 13 who, some of you may have seen on television, and some of us heard on the radio, have just landed and been welcomed home by the Secretary of State at Andrews Air Force Base. But more importantly, concern for the 49, who still live in fear and terror. Concern because many of our fellow human beings have been trapped, have had their freedoms taken away, and their very lives jeopardized. Concern because many of us feel victimized, insulted, and degraded by the impetuous tirades of self-seeking political leaders. Concern because many Americans feel that we as a people have been vilified, castigated, put down, defamed, used, abused, accused, and feel that our patience and goodwill have been taken advantage of. Concern because, not only are the lives of our fellow citizens in mortal danger, but who we are as a people, and what we stand for as a nation, are being disgraced and defamed. As a people, individual men, women, boys and girls, we are not a war-mad, power-hungry, manipulating, self-seeking, take advantage of our neighbors, put down others for the sake of ourselves kind of people. And I think we all resent being wildly and madly portrayed this way. Thanksgiving Day 1979 is a somber, grave moment for us. It is a moment for giving thanks for the heritage we have, a heritage of freedom, human rights and human dignity. A moment for remembering that our freedoms have come at great sacrifice for those who have lived and died before us, our heritage and freedom have come at great cost, if not to us, then to others. A moment for us as Christians, and for us as Americans, not only to remember and give thanks, but also a moment for us to come together in unity. A unity important for us to show, for our leaders to know, and for the rest of the world to be cognizant of. Thanksgiving Day 1979, as we give thanks, we also need to share and to show a unity of purpose. That we will indeed protect and support one another in time of threat and adversity, and that the life of any one of our fellow Americans is of ultimate importance to all of us. And our purpose is to safeguard the wellbeing of any one or all who belong to us. A unity of will, that when pushed and pushed and pushed, or when embarrassed over and over and over, or when threatened again and again and again, our will as a people, as individuals, and as one people, can become united and unflinching. We will stand together. A unity of sacrifice. That when necessary and essential, we can and will sacrifice in any and every way necessary to preserve life and human dignity, and the freedom we feel is essential for us, and for all God's children. When sacrifice is required, any sacrifice, we as a people can and will respond as one people, in word and deed. A unity in prayer. Because, very simply, my friends, we as Christians do believe that God answers prayers. A unity that says to ourselves and to all the world that we really are a God-fearing, God-loving people. That we really do believe that God is the ruler, even yet. That prayer and praise and worship really do belong, ultimately, to God and to God alone. And, that prayer, when earnestly and faithfully offered to God, is answered. And so, we come today, at a terrifying and threatening moment in the life and history of our nation and world, to bow down and to give thanks to God. To remember and celebrate our freedom and our heritage, dealing with human dignity, a freedom and a heritage that have blessed us all. We come together to bow down to express our concern about what is happening to our people and to us as a nation, and indeed, to the world. We come together to demonstrate our unity, our oneness of purpose, of will, of sacrifice and of prayer. We come remembering and giving thanks. We come pleading that God will deliver all peoples caught up in the frenzied, frightening, mad turmoil, and pleading that God's Spirit of peace and goodwill and reconciliation, in some miraculous way, in which perhaps only God's power can rescue us. That power will become manifest in our world. Let me close with some words from the Psalmist. "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, "and the world and all who dwell therein. "Who shall ascend to the hill of the Lord? "And who shall stand in his Holy Place? "He who has clean hands and a pure heart, "he will receive blessing from the Lord, "and vindication from the God of his salvation." And from Psalms 44, "We have heard with our ears, oh God, "our fathers have told us what deeds Thou didst perform "in their days, in the days of old." And from Psalms 22, "In Thee, oh God, our fathers trusted, "they trusted and Thou didst deliver them. "To Thee, they cried and were saved, "in Thee, they trusted and were not disappointed." Truly as John Donne once wrote, "No man, that is, no one is an island, entire of itself." No one stands alone, especially today. Everyone is a piece of the same continent, a part of the mainland. We are all God's children, this is God's earth. Let us together with one voice today pray, and pray fervently that God's will will be done. And that we will become one family under God, living in peace and goodwill, from this time forth and forevermore. And to God be the praise and the glory, world without end, Amen and Amen. (upbeat organ music) 

- Remain standing for the affirmation of faith. Number 740 from our hymnbooks. It's a morning affirmation. "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, "there is one true church, "an apostolic church and universal, "whose Holy Faith let us now declare. "We believe in God, the Father, infinite in wisdom, "power and love, whose mercy is over His works, "and whose Will is ever directed to His children's good. "We believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Son of Man, "the gift of the Father's unfailing grace, "the ground of our hope, and the promise of our deliverance "from sin and death. "We believe in the Holy Spirit, "as a divine presence in our lives. "Whereby, we are kept in perpetual remembrance "of the truth of Christ, and find strength and help "in time of need. "We believe that this faith should manifest itself "in the service of love, as set forth in the example "of our blessed Lord, to the end that the Kingdom of God "may come upon earth, amen." You may be seated. The Lord be with you. (congregation murmuring) And, let us pray. (paper rustling) Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, the God of all nations, all tongues, all peoples, yea of the haves and the have-nots, of the learned and the unlearned, Thou who has called us out of the darkness, into Thy marvelous light, we give Thee thanks and praise, on this Thanksgiving Day, 1979. And, let us pray prayers of thanksgiving. Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for the faith of our Founding Fathers, who somehow risked their lives through the wilderness of the sea, amongst wild beasts, with the cold, the heat, and the chill, we thank Thee for their stick-to-itiveness. We thank Thee for the freedom of worship, of assembly, of the press, and yea, for the freedom in our religious persuasions. We thank Thee for health, for jobs, for the skills which make us useful and helpful in this land of ours. We thank Thee for the educational and other institutions which help in our growth and development. We thank Thee for the faith, and the toil, and the sacrifice of the disinherited, of the blacks and other minorities, of women and other persons against whom we discriminate. We thank You for those who built bridges, and the canals, cleared the land, and gave this nation years of free labor. And, we thank Thee for the defenders of freedom. We thank Thee for Sojourner Truth, for James Reed, for Martin Luther King, Jr., for Harriet Tubman, for Mr. Till, for Mr. Evers. We thank Thee for Levi Kauffman, one of the major characters in the Underground Railroad. For Andy Young, for Booker Washington. For others who held high, and for some who hold high, the torch of freedom. Let us pray prayers of confession. Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, we confess that we do not take all of our resources seriously. And, that silence is often our only way of speaking. We confess our dedication to a fake neutrality, taking sides for good nor evil, and thereby allowing evil its way. We confess a lifestyle based upon caste, race, age and sex, and even sometimes our favorite religion. We confess the lack of thanksgiving in our hearts, and thankfulness for the variety of persons You've put upon this land. We confess our raping of our environment, poisoning our air and our water, and wasting our human and natural resources. We confess that we come together, often only to worship, but live and work miles apart. Forgive us, we pray, for our waywardness, and our sinfulness on this, Thy Thanksgiving Day. And, let us send up petitions unto God. Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, grant unto us this day a deeper sense of thankfulness, sympathy for the weak and defenseless, freedom for those who are held hostage, justice in the universities. Save us from war and even another war. And, save us from the passions and fears, and all which would make us less servants, and less ambassadors of Thine. And, let us rededicate ourselves under God. Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, we offer Thee, on this Thanksgiving Day, our talents, our money, our sacrifice of time and energy, to the end that Thy Will will be known, and Thy Will will be accepted unto the ends of the earth. Accept this, our praise, accept these, our gifts, accept this, our sacrifice, for we offer it, acknowledging Thee as the true giver of all. And, in dedication unto Thee: Stony the road we trod, bitter the chastening rod, felt in the days when hope unborn had died. Yet, with a steady beat, have not our weary feet come to the place, for which our fathers sighed? We have come over a way that with tears has been watered, we have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered, out of the gloomy past, till we now stand at last, where the white gleam of our bright star is cast. God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, Thou who has brought us thus far on the way, Thou has by Thy might, lead us into the light. Keep us forever in the path, we pray, lest our feet stray from the places where we met Thee. Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget Thee. Shadowed beneath Thy hand, may we forever stand true to our God, true to our native land. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, who taught us to pray this prayer, that we shall pray together, Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread, forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us for the time of trial, and deliver us from evil, for the kingdom, the power, and the glory are Yours, now and forever, amen. Let us worship God with our offerings. (baby crying) (upbeat organ music) Accept these, our gifts, and may they bring hope and joy and encouragement to those who receive them, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen. (lectern echoing) Let us pray. Oh, Lord, for all Your blessings in creation, for all the beauty of earth and sky and sea, for Your manifold works, and the wisdom with which You have made them all. 

- We thank You, oh God. 

- For all the happiness of our earthly life, for our peaceful homes and healthful days, for our powers of mind and body, for our faithful friends, for the joy of loving and being loved. 

- We thank You, oh God. 

- For the revelation of Your love, and for the newness of life in our Savior, for the blessings brought to us by Your Holy Church, and for our fellowship with You in Christ. 

- We thank You, oh God. 

- Strengthen and encourage all who, by reason of temptation, hardness of circumstances, or personal loss, find it difficult to be thankful and praise Your Holy Name. 

- We beseech You, oh Lord. 

- Inspire all who are seeking to improve life, and to give courage and devotion to all who do the work of everyday, and all who seek to restore prosperity and peace to our world. 

- We beseech You, oh Lord. 

- Give us, oh God, a vision of truth and justice, that we may work together to overcome the darkness which we create, and that we may serve You in unity and peace as a people of service and love. 

- Thanks be to God, whose love has made us. Thanks be to God, whose grace sustains us Thanks be to God, for His presence makes us, amen. 

- Our hymn is Number 55, Praise to the Lord, the Almighty. (upbeat organ music) (congregation softly singing) The God of all power, of all might, the God of the earth, and the God of all persons who dwell upon this earth, be with you and among you, going before you and behind you and alongside you, giving you genuine thanks, helping you bear your burdens, helping you make your changes and your choices, and helping you live out the rest of your lives a day of Thanksgiving unto Him. Today, tomorrow and everyday and till the end comes, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen. (upbeat organ music)