A Very Quiet Thanksgiving

This was the first Thanksgiving that I spent without my daughters. I had thought it was a small dinner before when we just had the four of us but this year it was just Bob and me. The girls were together at the home of Laura's fiance in Virginia. Since our house is a bit torn up, I didn't really want to invite anyone over here. On the bright side, we didn't have to clean the house or dress up. However, the table seemed terribly empty even though it was covered with food. I basically fixed what I always fix except that we barbequed a smaller turkey and I baked a pecan pie instead of a pumpkin pie. Just after we sat down to eat, we heard some noise and realized that a neigbor was setting off fireworks (I don't know why - leftovers?) We opened up the blinds and watched them for a few minutes.

Last night, since it was just the two of us, we attended the 24th Annual Thanksgiving Ecumenical and Interfaith Service. I had wanted to go for a number of years but with people coming into town, it had never worked out. Worshipers were asked to bring canned food and the offering went to Interfaith Sanctuary (winter shelter for the homeless). We were called to worship with the blowing of the Shofar (ritual instrument of Judaism) then representatives from various religions processed into the sanctuary. We were welcomed by the Catholic Bishop, a prayer was read from the Koran and then the Mayor of Boise voiced his Proclamation of Thanksgiving. The Ecumenical Choir, made up of musicians from a dozen Christian churches sang two numbers. There was a reading from the Book of Mormon, a call to meditation from a member of the Buddhist community and a song from the choir from the local Jewish synagogue. The message was from a Methodist minister and reflected on caring for the poor. There were hymns sung by the congregation, a blessing from the Rabbi, and a prayer from a woman of the Baha'i faith. We ended with the blowing of the Shofar and a recessional. It was a beautiful service and the place was packed - standing room only. If only the spirit of that worship service could move out into the world......