A Prayer for Thanksgiving Day
Source of the Universe, Creative Source of all being, from You comes our blessings from day to day and from year to year. How great are Your love and kindness, O God! The towering mountains and the shaded forests, the abundant streams and fruitful earth tell of Your endless bounty.
For this land so richly blessed, we raise our voice in joyous thanks. To these shores Your children have come from many lands to seek liberty and new hope. Many have been pilgrims to this western world. Though they did not always practice the justice they sought, here they found renewed purpose, increased strength and the opportunity to outgrow old fears and superstitions.
For those who were brought here under slavery’s yoke, against their will, we acknowledge the pain and suffering that were brought to families and this land. On this Thanksgiving Day we affirm our commitment to racial equality and freedom, healing and wholeness for all who dwell here. We acknowledge, too, with respect and honor those upon whose native lands we now dwell; indigenous peoples greeted the first pilgrims, taught them to work the land, and shared the first Thanksgiving meal together.
For our country, for its freedom promised and attained, the richness of its natural blessing, and for all of its peoples, we give humble thanks.
O God of justice and right, inspire all who dwell in our land with loyalty to the ideals of our founders. Give us wisdom and strength to labor for its well-being on the firm foundation of truth and justice and fill us with a spirit of kindness, generosity, and peace, toward our neighbors, that our land may once again be a beacon of light to many people.
On this Thanksgiving Day, may our homes be filled with health and happiness, and may our hearts overflow with gratitude.
Baruch Atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech HaOlam Hamotzi Lechem Min Ha-aretz
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם הַמּוֹצִיא לֶחֶם מִן הָאָרֶץ
Praised are You Adonai our God, Source of the Universe, who causes bread to come forth from the earth.
