Before moving along in my story I want to make a short side trip to the present as we prepare to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday.

Yesterday, November 23, we concluded our fall sermon series at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Austin as we prepare to begin the season of Advent next Sunday. The fall series was titled “Touchstones of Spiritual Sanity” and focused on the Ten Commandments. Yesterday Jim Rigby did a masterful job of giving consideration to the final commandment in light of this week’s annual celebration of Thanksgiving. His sermon, From Blessings to Beatitudes will be available on-line later this week at http://www.staopen.org/sermons-and-news/sermons/ – I strongly recommend it for your watching and listening.

Two other items from the service that I want to make available for your consideration. First, a Native American version of the Ten Commandments which we sang together at the conclusion of the service using a setting that I had composed.

The Earth is our Mother, care for her.

Honor all your relations.

Open your heart and soul to the Great Spirit.

All life is sacred, treat all beings with respect.

Take from the Earth what is needed and nothing more.

Do what needs to be done for the good of all.

Give constant thanks to the Great Spirit for each new day.

Speak the truth: but only of the good in others.

Follow the rhythms of nature: rise and retire with the sun.

Enjoy life’s journey but leave no tracks.

Finally, a prayer that we used during the service – divided into three sections as a call to worship, at a time of prayer, and as a blessing at the end of the service.

Give us hearts to understand; Never to take from creation’s beauty more than we give; never to destroy wantonly for the furtherance of greed; Never to deny to give our hands for the building of earth’s beauty; never to take from her what we cannot use.

Give us hearts to understand That to destroy earth’s music is to create confusion; that to wreck her appearance is to blind us to beauty; That to callously pollute her fragrance is to make a house of stench; that as we care for her she will care for us. We have forgotten who we are. We have sought only our own security. We have exploited simply for our own ends. We have distorted our knowledge. We have abused our power. Great Spirit, whose dry lands thirst, Help us to find the way to refresh your lands. Great Spirit, whose waters are choked with debris and pollution, help us to find the way to cleanse your waters. Great Spirit, whose beautiful earth grows ugly with misuse, help us to find the way to restore beauty to your handiwork. Great Spirit, whose creatures are being destroyed, help us to find a way to replenish them.

Great Spirit, whose gifts to us are being lost in selfishness and corruption, help us to find the way to restore our humanity. Oh, Great Spirit, whose voice we hear in the wind, whose breath gives life to the world, hear us; we need your strength and wisdom.

May we walk in Beauty.

http://nativeamerican.lostsoulsgenealogy.com/prayers.htm

These and other beautiful writing may be found at the website listed above.

This week as you gather to celebrate Thanksgiving it is my prayer that you will pause to remember the whole story of this day that we celebrate each year, being mindful that many people still suffer injustice, oppression, hunger, disease, prejudice and other things that diminish their value as part of God’s continuing creation. So I conclude this post with three of the commandments from above: All life is sacred, treat all beings with respect. Take from the Earth what is needed and nothing more. Do what needs to be done for the good of all.

Amen and Amen – so let it be!!