Too Far Separated - Poem by Raymond A. Foss

The words of our forefathers,
at the first Thanksgiving
at the beginning of our nation
in the midst of civil war,
bowing down, stopping to remember,
to give thanks to God
from whom all things come
beneficent author, the source
the wellspring, the fountainhead
from which our blessing flow
a harvest, a bounty, a nation rejoicing
giving thanks to the creator
for all that we have,
what we are as a people
the dream that is America
Losing that focus
that centering on our God
lost in the separation
the walls between church and state
Left with words of thanksgiving
of blessings to count
no mention of to whom we are thankful
or from whom the blessings come
Sad in this moment,
when we should be singing
thanking our God, our maker
of all that there is, all that we are
what we can achieve as a people
when we are faithful to God

November 26, 2009
Call to Worship, thanking God
&
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/GW/gw004.html
President George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation
October 3, 1789
(included in the bulletin)
http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/source/sb2/sb2w.htm
President Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation,
October 3, 1863
(read by Fred Kline, Pembroke Selectman and School Board member)
both part of
Pembroke – Allenstown Community Thanksgiving Service
http://www.pembrokechurch.org/templates/System/default.asp?id=40672
First Congregational Church of Pembroke
http://www.suncookumc.org
Suncook United Methodist Church,
Suncook, NH
http://www.gccnh.com/
Grace Capital Church,
Concord, NH
http://www.catholicnh.org/directory/index.cfm?intType=1&id=72
St. John the Baptist Catholic Church
Allenstown, NH
http://cs.newhampshire.com/blogs/hooksett_editor/archive/2009/11/25/There-are-many-ways-to-make-the-holiday-bright.aspx
Allenstown – Pembroke Interfaith Food Pantry
November 25, 2009
at First Congregational Church of Pembroke
http://www.pembrokechurch.org/templates/System/default.asp?id=40672
Pembroke Street
Pembroke, NH
&
Email received 11/25/09 from President Barack Obama

“Tomorrow, Thanksgiving Day, Americans across the country will sit down together, count our blessings, and give thanks for our families and our loved ones.

American families reflect the diversity of this great nation. No two are exactly alike, but there is a common thread they each share.

Our families are bound together through times of joy and times of grief. They shape us, support us, instill the values that guide us as individuals, and make possible all that we achieve.

So tomorrow, I'll be giving thanks for my family -- for all the wisdom, support, and love they have brought into my life.

But tomorrow is also a day to remember those who cannot sit down to break bread with those they love.

The soldier overseas holding down a lonely post and missing his kids. The sailor who left her home to serve a higher calling. The folks who must spend tomorrow apart from their families to work a second job, so they can keep food on the table or send a child to school.

We are grateful beyond words for the service and hard work of so many Americans who make our country great through their sacrifice. And this year, we know that far too many face a daily struggle that puts the comfort and security we all deserve painfully out of reach.

So when we gather tomorrow, let us also use the occasion to renew our commitment to building a more peaceful and prosperous future that every American family can enjoy.

It seems like a lifetime ago that a crowd met on a frigid February morning in Springfield, Illinois to set out on an improbable course to change our nation.

In the years since, Michelle and I have been blessed with the support and friendship of the millions of Americans who have come together to form this ongoing movement for change.

You have been there through victories and setbacks. You have given of yourselves beyond measure. You have enabled all that we have accomplished -- and you have had the courage to dream yet bigger dreams for what we can still achieve.

So in this season of thanks giving, I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to you, and my anticipation of the brighter future we are creating together.

With warmest wishes for a happy holiday season from my family to yours,

President Barack Obama”

Paid for by Organizing for America, a project of the Democratic National Committee -- 430 South Capitol Street SE, Washington, D.C. 20003. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.