Sunday Video Message – “Give Thanks”

Announcements 

• Good morning, and welcome!  We at University Friends are glad to have you worship with us this morning. 
• Thank you for music by Rosemary Nettrouer, technical support by Michael Barrett, music coordination by Dawn Blue.   
• We are live streaming on Facebook and the church website (wichitaquakers.org) and will not be gathering for worship in person for a while.  Please feel free to share our worship with your Facebook friends by posting a link.  

Among church activities this week

• Today
  • 11:15 a.m. ~ Listening Group 1.3 (Dawn & Sarah) via Zoom
  • 3:00 p.m. ~ 205 Sunday Class via Zoom 
• Monday, November 23, 6:30 pm, Scouts Decorating
• Tuesday, November 24, 6:30 pm, Book Club via Zoom
• Wednesday, November 25, the church office will be closed in the morning and open 1 pm to 4 pm.
• Thursday, November 26, Thanksgiving Day, Church Office Closed
• Friday, November 27, Church Office Closed

I have two more important items to talk about this morning. 

First, you may have noticed that, according to our church calendar, today is Consecration Sunday.  Dave McDonald, with help from the Finance Committee, has sent out a letter that explains:  

Consecration Sunday is a time to reflect on what our Meeting family has meant to us in the past year and a time for each of us to prayerfully consider what commitment God is asking of us in the coming year.   

I understand that in years past, Consecration Sunday has been a special time of worship, followed by a luncheon.  That’s not going to happen this year.   Instead, an appeal letter has gone out, and with the letter is an Estimate of Giving Card and a stamped envelope.   The Finance Committee would like to receive your card by December 7^th to help with budget planning for 2021.  

Second, this past Thursday, folks from Friends University – President Amy Carey, Chairman of the Board of Trustees Kevin Hoppock, and Vice President of Finance Vernon Dolezal – presented a proposal for their use of our building to the Assets Committee.    

In terms of possibilities, Friends University is looking at the building for short- and long-term use:

• A home for visual arts 
• A setting for recitals, concerts, and other events 
• Space for campus ministry to have worship and fellowship, dedicated sacred space 
• A place for their new wrestling program 

In terms of investments, the university is looking at these:

• Upgrading the heating and air conditioning systems 
• Long-term maintenance 
• Accessibility, including an elevator in the east wing
• Deferred maintenance and restoration 

We indicated support for the proposal in general and raised some concerns about specifics.  They anticipate bringing us a revised proposal soon.  We have scheduled a threshing meeting – a time when we can talk about this proposal without pressure to make a decision – for December 13, 1:00 p.m.  This will be a Zoom meeting, because we are under a pandemic, and President Cary offered us the use of the President’s Dining Room, which is set up so that we can have a Zoom meeting where everyone can hear.  

• Please put December 13, 1:00 p.m., on your calendar.  
• Please also hold this meeting and this process in your prayers.

Music: “Give Thanks” 

Children’s moment: Andrea Suttle (taped) 

Prayer Concerns 

• Steve Grether had surgery on Wednesday.  Doctors amputated 5 inches below his right knee and successfully removed infection from his left ankle. After a time of healing, he will be fitted with a prosthetic. 

• Paul Mallonee has had a flare-up of his leg infection and, after a negative COVID test Wednesday night, was admitted to the hospital for observation. He was able to go home Friday afternoon and has this next week off work to rest and recover. 

• School boards, teachers, administrators, staff, students and families as they cope with rising pandemic numbers

• Our church during this time of transition, with the holidays and the pandemic, and important decisions coming up – May we find clarity and energy for the tasks at hand and the decisions we will need to make as we find our way forward.   May we find ways to use our assets wisely and well.  May we discover ways we are to be a beacon of love in our world. May we be looking for the doors you are opening, and may we have the courage to walk through them.  May we see what you are doing in our world and join you in it.   

Pastoral prayer

God of grace, we give you thanks.  We recognize that every good gift comes from you. 

• Consecration 
• Proposal 

Message

Psalm 100, from the Anglican Liturgical Psalter 

1 Be joyful in the Lord, * all you lands; 2 serve the Lord with gladness and come into the divine presence with a song. 

3 Know this: … we are God’s people, the sheep of God’s pasture. 

4 Enter the gates of the Lord with thanksgiving; go into these courts with praise; * give thanks to God and call upon the name of the Lord. 

5 For the Lord is good, whose steadfast love is everlasting; * and whose faithfulness endures from age to age.  (Liturgical Psalter, https://www.anglican.ca/wp-content/uploads/GS2016-Liturgical-Psalter-2016-05-04.pdf). 

This week, our country celebrates Thanksgiving Day, and this morning I am going to do something I have done in years past. It’s an alphabet of Thanksgiving.  I am going to suggest things for which I am grateful, at least one thing for every letter of the alphabet.  You might want to think of your own list, and if you want to, you could do it with your family when you celebrate Thanksgiving.  It would even work over Zoom, if that’s how you’re joining family this year.  

Ready?  Here goes.   As I share my list with you, I think I should say that it’s not exactly complete.  I know there are lots more things I am thankful for, but this is my list for today. 

A

• my 5-year-old friend and neighbor Abigail, 
• my daughter Ann, 
• applesauce (homemade, from a variety of fall apples, cooked with a piece of cinnamon bark and just a touch of sugar)  
• Angels with stars that bring God’s light into my life
• all you-all 

B

• Beans – pinto beans, chili beans, black beans, garbanzo beans, Anasazi beans.  A few weeks ago, I combined a bunch of my dry beans (a cup of this and a cup of that), and now I have a half-gallon jar of mixed beans, waiting for me to make soup and cornbread. 
• Bread – homemade whole-grain bread, fresh from the oven 
• Books and bookmarks 

C 

• Cinnamon and cinnamon rolls, 
• chocolate 
• my granddaughter Cora, soon to be 19
• Cookies 
• My friend Cilde, who asks me important questions and reminds me that I have done hard things before and survived 

D

• Dancing, though I haven’t done much in Wichita – English Country Dancing, Line Dancing, Contradancing – I can’t dance without smiling. 

E 

• embroidering and embroidery floss – my grandma taught be how to embroider when I was 8, and it’s still deeply satisfying.
• “Escape to the Country” 
• Education 

F 

• Flannel sheets, flannel shirts, flannel jammies
• Faithfulness – God’s faithfulness, which endures forever, even during a pandemic 
• Flowers, which remind me that beauty is a sign of God’s presence 

G 

• my grandma, whose blue eyes sparkled when she looked at me  
• Granola 
• “The Great British Baking Show” 

H 

• Home – I often say I carry my roots in a bucket, so home is wherever I live.  I’m grateful to have one. 
• Humor 
• Hugs, even virtual ones 
• Herbal tea

I 

• Ice cream – Ben & Jerry’s New York Super Fudge Chunk  
• Intentional Interim Ministry – the most challenging and satisfying work I have ever done. 

J 

• My grandson Josiah, 11

K 

• My daughter-in-law Kristen, who texted me yesterday that she’s sending me homemade pie for Thanksgiving 
• My friend Kristyn, who leads me on knitting adventures – 5 plant cozies this fall, with plans for a Ruth Bader Ginsburg collar one of these days
• Knitting – hats and socks, dishcloths and plant cozies

L 

• My daughter Laura 
• Laughter shared 
• Lentils – I found a blend of colorful little bitty lentils at the Spice Merchant.  Yummy and pretty. 
• Lip balm made by Burt’s Bees 
• Leftovers (like treasure in the fridge) 

M 

• My son Michael 
• My friend Margaret 
• Mechanical pencils 
• Maps 
• Mountains 
• Meddy’s – a local food chain that serves Mediterranean food

N

• My granddaughter Naomi, 15 
• Nifty Nut House 
• Nuts, pretty much any kind of nuts 
• National Public Radio 
• National parks 
• Naps

O

• My granddaughter Olivia, 17, and about to graduate from high school 
• Olives 
• The ocean, especially the Pacific Ocean – the crash of the waves, the fresh smell, the feel of the sea breeze on my face, the sight of the expanse of water stretching to the horizon 

P 

• Purple – anything purple is just that much better than anything that’s not.  (Have you seen my purple laptop? My purple Kitchen Aid mixer? The purple fuzzy blanket that’s just right for naps?) 
• My friend Pat who lives in Traverse City, Michigan 
• Pickles – the little bitty dill ones 
• Louise Penny, who writes maybe the best mystery books ever 
• Pie – peach pie, pecan pie, pumpkin pie 

Q 

• Quakers (well, most of them)  
• Quiet 

R

• My friend Ruthie, who reminds me often that I am special and especially loved 
• Raspberries and raspberry jam 
• Red cowboy boots 

S 

• Saphira, the blue dragon, one of the main characters in the Inheritance series of books, and also the name of my flashy little car 
• Spices – when I was in 7^th grade, I did a report on spices for home ec.  My pantry in Muncie included an over-the-door spice rack, eight shelves, all full, in alphabetical order.  Cinnamon, whole nutmegs, ginger and also cumin, cardamom, curry, smoked paprika, bay leaves, cloves, coriander.  Mmmm. 
• “Somebody Feed Phil” 

T 

• Trees
• Travel 

U

• Unexpected phone calls from friends far away
• The University of Virginia

V 

• Violets 
• Vermont Country Store 

W 

• White chicken chili 

X

• Experience (does that count as an X?) 

Y 

• Yarn, especially sock yarn.  It’s soft and beautiful.  It comes in a wide variety of colors and can be made into, yes, socks, but also hats and shawls and baby booties.  

Z 

• Zumba 
• Zoom – I’m looking forward to sharing pie on Thanksgiving Day with family in Indiana and Oregon, on Zoom. 

Psalm 100, from the Anglican Liturgical Psalter 

1 Be joyful in the Lord, * all you lands; 2 serve the Lord with gladness and come into the divine presence with a song. 

3 Know this: the Lord, the Lord, is God; * the One made us and to whom we belong; we are God’s people, the sheep of God’s pasture. 

4 Enter the gates of the Lord with thanksgiving; go into these courts with praise; * give thanks to God and call upon the name of the Lord. 

5 For the Lord is good, whose steadfast love is everlasting; * and whose faithfulness endures from age to age.  (Liturgical Psalter, https://www.anglican.ca/wp-content/uploads/GS2016-Liturgical-Psalter-2016-05-04.pdf). 

Open worship 

Benediction 

May you find many things to be grateful for and many ways to give thanks in the days ahead.   Give thanks with a grateful heart.

We are meeting in person and also streaming our sermons on Facebook at 10:00 AM CST. Watch live: 
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