A Better Harvest

An Intergenerational Service
for Thanksgiving Day
November 22, 2012
Lectionary Texts: Joel 2:21-27, Psalm 126, 1 Timothy 2:1-7, Matthew 6:25-33
INTERGENERATIONAL WORSHIP:
This litury inclu!es se"eral strateies to enae the whole conreation in cele#ratin
creation an! the har! wor$ that oes into %oo! &ro!uction' This theme emeres %rom an
ecoloical inter&retation o% the lectionary rea!ins %or the cele#ration o% Than$si"in' (ther
strateies %or enain conreants o% a "ariety o% aes an! learnin styles may #e %oun! at the
en! o% this ser"ice'
EXEGETICAL NOTES:
The natural worl! is a main character an! the &rimary %ocus o% the #oo$ o%
Joel' )ts &ro&hecy is communicate! throuh the #eha"ior o% the lan!, the cro&s,
the weather, an! es&ecially the locusts* To this !ay, no one has %oun! an e%%ecti"e
way to sto& a swarm o% locusts, !estructi"e insects who consume their weiht in
%oo! !aily, an! still sym#oli+e %amine, &articularly in ,%rica an! the Mi!!le -ast'
Li$e hurricanes an! torna!oes, mo!ern technoloy allows us to trac$ locusts, #ut
not sto& them' , swarm o% locusts li$e that !escri#e! in the #oo$ o% Joel was
in!ee! a natural !isaster that woul! ha"e threatene! the entire community.s %oo!
su&&ly' /et, Joel also o%%ers ho&e %or relie%' To!ay.s lectionary rea!in !escri#es
an a#un!ant har"est o% the $in! we cele#rate at Than$si"in, stressin that
renewal is &ossi#le e"en a%ter the com&lete !e"astation a locust swarm or other
natural !isaster #rins' This same ho&e %or restoration is echoe! in Psalm 126, as
are the natural meta&hors in Matthew 6' The har"est is an a&t meta&hor %or
renewal an! restoration in that it %ollows the seasonal cycles that renew 0o!.s
creation year a%ter year, em#e!!in ho&e %or new rowth in each o% us as we watch
an! learn to trust that s&rin will %ollow winter' )t is also a&&ro&riate in that it
re1uires a 2oint e%%ort #y 0o! an! human$in!' 3e must &lant an! ten! a ar!en i%
we wish it to row, #ut Jesus remin!s us in Matthew 6 that we must also trust in
0o!.s role in our li"es as in creation' This &ast summer.s !rouht has meant a less
than #ounti%ul har"est %or many %armers in our country' ,nyone who !ro"e
throuh the Mi!west in mi!-summer saw miles o% !ry corn hus$s an! %iel!s alrea!y
&lowe! un!er' )n liht o% such challenes, it is !i%%icult to ha"e ho&e %or im&ro"e!
en"ironmental con!itions an! a #etter har"est next year' 4onetheless, ho&e is
what will %uel us to !o the necessary wor$ to hol! u& our en! o% our colla#oration
with 0o!' 3e !o not ain #y worry, #ut #y ten!in to our ar!ens an! carin %or
creation'
H!N "ome, # Thankf$l %eo&le, "ome TNCH 422
"A'' T# (#)SHI%
To ma$e this call to worshi& more accessi#le to &re-literate or "isually im&aire!
conreants, intro!uce the conreational res&onse #e%ore you #ein, intro!ucin a esture you
will ma$e that will cue their res&onse, 56ome, than$%ul &eo&le, come*7 )% this &ractice is new to
the conreation, &ractice this call an! res&onse a %ew times #e%ore #einnin the in"ocation,
encourain them to s&ea$ their res&onse with usto*
Leader: To the Thanksgiving table of plenty,
"ongregation* "ome, thankf$l &eo&le, come+
Leader: To the kitchen where familiar hands prepare with love,
"ongregation* "ome, thankf$l &eo&le, come+
Leader: To the farm where callosed hands plant and tend,
"ongregation* "ome, thankf$l &eo&le, come+
Leader: To the rich earth, where roots stretch and seeds grow,
"ongregation* "ome, thankf$l &eo&le, come+
Leader: To this service of worship and praise of the !od of creation,
"ongregation* "ome, thankf$l &eo&le, come+
%)A,) #- "#N-,SSI#N
So.er of "reation,
(e a/mit that .e are not s$re .here all o$r foo/ comes from0
(e /o not al.ays kno. .ho &re&are/ it,
#r .hether those .ho gro. an/ &re&are o$r foo/
have eno$gh foo/ themselves0
o$, .ho crafte/ each of $s by han/,
(e confess that .e /o not al.ays care for o$r bo/ies,
That .e sometimes eat .hat is easy rather than .hat is healthy,
An/ that in /oing so .e have /isres&ecte/ yo$r gifts to $s0
Hel& $s to a&&reciate the goo/ foo/ yo$ have &rovi/e/ for $s,
Heighten o$r a.areness of the .ays .e benefit
from labor in farm an/ factory,
)emin/ $s of the miracle that brings $s no$rishment each /ay,
An/ make $s tr$ly thankf$l to/ay an/ every /ay0 Amen0
ASS1)AN", #- %A)D#N
Created Commnity,
know that !od"s everlasting faithflness
reaches ot to each and every one of s
to give s hope for a better harvest
in the changing seasons of or lives#
H!N 2reat is o$r -aithf$lness TNCH 42$
!1'TI2,N,)ATI#NA' S,)!#N A"TI3IT
Collaborating With God
, Multienerational 8ermon ,cti"ity is an interacti"e acti"ity that can intro!uce,
conclu!e, or #e interate! in a sermon so as to encourae a more em#o!ie! ex&erience %or
&eo&le o% all aes' )t may also #e use! as a chil!ren9s sermon, #ut is most e%%ecti"e when #roa!
&artici&ation is encourae!'
Title* The 2ar/en of 2ratit$/e
The ancient &eo&le who were the :i#le.s oriinal au!ience $new an!
un!erstoo! %armin' 8o !i! our early ,merican %or#ears, #oth ,merican )n!ians
an! Puritan re%uees, whose stories we tell at Than$si"in' Plantin an!
har"estin was their way o% li%e, #ut this is not the case %or many in our
conreations' This acti"ity o%%ers &eo&le o% all aes the o&&ortunity to row %oo!'
Pro"i!e soil, see!s or see!lins, an! containers %or conreants o% all aes to
&lant win!owsill her#s to ta$e home' )% your conreation has a Than$si"in
canne! %oo! !ri"e, you can com#ine the two &ro2ects #y also collectin em&ty %oo!
cans to use as containers %or these win!owsill ar!ens, as a remin!er that e"en
when our %oo! comes %rom cans, it also once rew in the roun!'
)% you woul! li$e to ex&an! this &ro2ect on a larer scale, ha"e a church
ar!en committee ma$e a &lan ahea! o% time to create a "eeta#le ar!en on your
roun!s ;or roo% in an ur#an conreation< so that you can share your %uture
har"est with the conreation or the community' 6onreants can ta$e see!s or
see!lins home to care %or them o"er the winter, an! then #rin them #ac$ to &lant
in the church ar!en in the s&rin'
B',SSIN2 -#) S,,DS
'ea/er* !iver of Life,
%or ot yor blessing like rainfall
pon the seeds we have planted,
That they may grow to norish yor people#
&ake s vigilant caretakers of these plants as they grow#
%eo&le* (e tr$st yo$ to /o yo$r &art an/ .e .ill /o o$rs+ Amen0
"A'' -#) TH, #--,)IN2
'n the spirit of Thanksgiving,
let s bring forth or gifts with gratitde#
%)A,) #- D,DI"ATI#N
(eaver of all life, in this 4oyo$s season
.e offer o$r heartfelt thanks for the ab$n/ance that s$rro$n/s $s
an/ ask that yo$ remin/ $s to e5ten/ the season of thanksgiving
as .e share these yo$r gifts .ith yo$r &eo&le
that they may kno. a better harvest0
H!N -or the -r$it of All "reation TNCH 42(
B,N,DI"TI#N
)s yo celebrate this Thanksgiving *ay,
may the depth of yor gratitde give yo hope
to work toward a better harvest of the grond and of the +pirit#
Thanks be to !od#
A Better Harvest, An Intergenerational 'it$rgy for Thanksgiving Day, was written by the ,ev# *r#
Larel -oepf Taylor, )ssistant %rofessor of .ld Testament at /den Theological +eminary, +aint Lois,
&issori#
Copyright 2012 Local Chrch &inistries, Congregational 2itality and *iscipleship &inistry Team, 3nited Chrch
of Christ, 400 %rospect )vene, Cleveland, .H 4411(51100# %ermission granted to reprodce or adapt this material
for se in services of worship or chrch edcation# )ll pblishing rights reserved#
5 Ways to Welcome Children in Worship*
The Rev. Dr. Laurel Koepf Taylor
Engage the enses
Your worship service already engages multiple senses in more ways than you realize!
Emphasize this and come up with more ways of creating active, multisensory worship
that will be authentic to your congregations worship style. Doing this will welcome
children as well as a wider range of adults!
!rovide a""ath Toys
When we thin of !abbath "oys, we usually thin of our #uritan roots, when children
were only allowed to play with $oahs %r on !undays. &evive this old tradition with a
twist! #rovide soft toys that follow the liturgical seasons or the theme of the days
worship so that childrens play will be a part of the communitys worship, not a distraction
from it! 'iblical felt pieces or a pictorial worship bulletin are simple ways to get started.
#o $eyond Children%s ermons
We communicate our welcome of children in worship most clearly in the liturgical actions
we value most in our tradition. (nvite children to tae lay leadership roles in worship and
mae sermons accessible through conversational style, team preaching, sermon
activities, and preaching illustrations that appeal to a variety of life stages.
Encourage Church &amily
E)tended families rarely live close to one another anymore but people still need
intergenerational relationships and support. *hurch is a great place to provide this!
+embers of the e)tended ,church family- who wish to e)perience spiritual renewal by
worshipping with a child can volunteer to give tired parents a brea on !unday morning.
'e sure to oversee this practice in a way that complies with ,safe church- policies.
'nclude Children in the &ull Life of the Church(
%dults and children will be more tolerant and loving of one another if they now each
other as people. Encourage childrens participation in church life and create
opportunities for friendships to grow across generations.
=Pre&are! %or the Your Church !"tt"r wor$sho&s at 0eneral 8yno!, 2>11, Tam&a, ?lori!a