Dear friends,

This Thanksgiving will be a special time for us to gather with friends and family to remember the many blessings we have received.  As we come together for the traditional Thanksgiving meal, I hope we will take time to be thankful.  We are blessed to live in a country where we have the right to worship and to peacefully assemble.  We are also fortunate to live in a country that inspires young brave men and women to volunteer to fight to defend our liberty every day. Let us not forget their many sacrifices. 

Our thanksgiving heritage goes back nearly 400 years when the pilgrims braved the seas to come to a land where they would be free to practice their religion.  Upon their arrival at Plymouth they gave thanks for the freedoms they would enjoy in the new world. They remained committed to their beliefs, which enabled them to deal with the many challenges the future would bring. 

Their leader, John Winthrop, reminded them how their gratitude for the freedoms they enjoyed was connected to their responsibility to the whole world:

“For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us.”

The example of thanksgiving the pilgrims displayed carried over into the next century when our country won its freedom from Great Britain and a new government was formed.  Soon after the inauguration of George Washington, Congress requested that he proclaim a day of prayer and thanksgiving for their successful birth as a nation.  In what has come to be known as the Thanksgiving Day Proclamation, George Washington declared what the purpose of Thanksgiving Day would be:  

“To be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country.”

It is altogether fitting that one of the first acts of our government was to give thanks to God for its survival as a nation and for being able to prosper after the Revolutionary War.  The Founders recognized the sacrifices made by their forefathers, the pilgrims, just as we remember the sacrifices made by our Founders.  We follow their example by gathering at this time of year to remember and give thanks for the freedoms we enjoy.

I am grateful for the prosperity our nation has enjoyed throughout the years.  We are fortunate to live in a land blessed with freedom and opportunity.  We must never forget that those freedoms are safeguarded by brave men and women who serve this country every day throughout the world.  It is my prayer that we will always be grateful for this wonderful land.  I wish you all a safe and Happy Thanksgiving and pray that God will continue to bless the United States of America.