Thanksgiving prayers for your table

May you have a joyful Thanksgiving, and may all of each of us be filled with gratitude for the many blessings we enjoy. Here are a few prayers for your table today:

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Bless this food
we are about to receive.
Give bread to those who hunger,
and hunger for justice to us
who have bread. Amen

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May God bless
our meal and grant us a
compassionate and
understanding heart
toward one another. Amen.

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Beloved Lord,
we do greatly thank You
for the abundance
that is ours. Amen.

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Be present at our table, Lord.
Be here and everywhere adored.
Thy creatures bless and grant that we
may feast in Paradise with thee. Amen

John Cennick (1718-1755)

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"O God, when I have food, help me to remember the hungry; When I have work, help me to remember the jobless; When I have a home, help me to remember those who have no home at all; When I am without pain, help me to remember those who suffer, And remembering, help me to destroy my complacency; bestir my compassion, that I be concerned enough to help By word and deed, those who cry out for what we take for granted. Amen."

-- Samuel Pugh 

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Blessed are you, O Lord our God, creator of the fruit of the vine: Grant that we who share this wine, which gladdens our hearts, may share for ever the new life of the true Vine, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Blessed are you, O Lord our God; you bring forth bread from the earth and make the risen Lord to be for us the Bread of life: Grant that we who daily seek the bread which sustains our bodies may also hunger for the food of everlasting life, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Giving Thanks
Based on a prayer by Julian of Norwich (1342-1416)

Holy and gracious God, we give thanks for the gift of this gathering; for the food before us; the loving hands that have prepared it; and the blessings we share together. Kindle our hearts and awaken hope, that we may know you always as our companion along the way. Forgive us where we have fallen short with each other and with ourselves; heal our wounds, restore our health, strengthen our souls, and help us to be ever mindful the needs of those near us who have so little. Teach us to believe that by your grace all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well. Amen.