A Poem for Thanksgiving

November 21, 2012

Dear St. Paul’s Family,

From Pulitzer Prize winning poet Carl Sandburg, from his collection Cornhuskers, with these simple directions:  “Written to be read aloud, if so be, Thanksgiving Day.”

“Fire Dreams”
by Carl Sandburg (1918)

I remember here by the fire,
In the flickering reds and saffrons,
They came in a ramshackle tub,
Pilgrims in tall hats,
Pilgrims of iron jaws,
Drifting by weeks on beaten seas,
And the random chapters say
They were glad and sang to God.

And so
Since the iron-jawed men sat down
And said, “Thanks, O God,”
For life and soup and a little less
Than a hobo handout to-day,
Since gray winds blew gray patterns of sleet on Plymouth Rock,
Since the iron-jawed men sang “Thanks, O God,”
You and I, O Child of the West,
Remember more than ever
November and the hunter’s moon,
November and the yellow-spotted hills.

And so
In the name of the iron-jawed men
I will stand up and say yes till the finish is come and gone.
God of all broken hearts, empty hands, sleeping soldiers,
God of all star-flung beaches of night sky,
I and my love-child stand up together to-day and sing: “Thanks, O God.”


On behalf of the staff and lay leadership of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, I wish you and yours a week of grateful acknowledgment of God’s blessings in your life.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Magrey  

The Rev. Magrey R. deVega
St. Paul's United Methodist Church
531 W. Main St.
Cherokee, IA  51012
Ph:  712-225-3955
Email:  mdevega@sp-umc.org


ALTERNATIVE CHRISTMAS GIFT CATALOG
As you prepare your shopping lists to purchase Christmas gifts for loved ones, consider using our annual Alternative Christmas Gift catalog, sponsored by the Missions Committee.  Starting this Sunday, you can buy gifts in honor of loved ones that support numerous local and international agencies, including Heifer International, Church World Service, and the Cherokee Needy Children Program.

FOOD DRIVE THANK YOU
Thank you to all of you who contributed to our recent food drives for Mid-Sioux and the Christian Action Program.  Your donations totaled 482 food items, just in time for the holidays.  Thank you!