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Dear Friends throughout Algoma and Moosonee,
We happily extend to you all warm greetings in Christ. As we celebrate Harvest Festival this weekend words from A General Thanksgiving at the end of each day’s Morning Prayer come to mind. “We give thee most humble and hearty thanks for all thy goodness and loving kindness toward us and all thy people. We bless thee for creation, preservation and all the blessings of this life…” (p. 14-15, The Book of Common Prayer).
As we think of God’s creation we are so blessed to enjoy its splendor in the glorious array of fall foliage in the woodlands of southern Ontario and Quebec and in the changing colors of more rugged terrain in northern regions. We give thanks for opportunities to spend time out on the land or at the edge of some great river or lake or bay. We rejoice in the rising of the sun and we welcome its setting. We give thanks for the special light of the moon and all the starry host.
As we think of God’s goodness in our preservation, we give thanks for the return of seedtime and harvest, for seasons of fishing and hunting, and all the wonderful feasts that accompany them. As we enjoy such bounty, we are mindful of the teaching of the prophets and the Gospel of Jesus to be mindful of those in need among us and to be kind and generous in providing for their needs-not only food and drink, but also clothing in accord with the change of seasons and housing that shelters from the blasts of winter storms.
We give thanks too for the blessings of family and friends, both near and far; for our children and grandchildren; and for the vigor and vision of our young people. We are especially grateful too for the wisdom of our elders in teaching us to respect one another and to care for the earth with an eye to generations- up to the seventh, to come.
Rejoicing in the harvest of the land and the waters providing for our physical needs, let us be thankful too for all our blessings in Christ – for the joy and fellowship we share in The Gospel. And let us be thankful for the fruits of the Spirit – “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22).
We pray that we be fertile ground for harvests of God’s righteousness, of rightness of our relationships with one another, and in our care for our common home, the earth.
With love and blessings for a Happy Thanksgiving,
The Most Rev. Anne Germond
Archbishop of Algoma and Moosonee
The Most Rev. Fred Hiltz
Assisting Bishop of Moosonee
