Non-Partisan Worship Service Welcomes All to Give Thanks

If mentally giving thanks for this past year’s blessings while stuffing yourself with mashed potatoes and turkey or watching a football game or parade seems to be lacking something, consider giving thanks with various community members as they come together for their annual joint Thanksgiving Day worship service. 



Held at the Grace Reformed Presbyterian Church in State College, 370 Airport Rd. (off of West College Ave. near the Waffle Shop), the event has been going on for “roughly ten years,” according to David Hanson of the host church.  The service includes the participation of various local pastors and congregations, including Grace Reformed Presbyterian, Bald Eagle Baptist, Faith Baptist, Grace Fellowship Baptist, and Oakwood Presbyterian Churches. 



The service will consist of singing, particularly focused on Psalms of thanksgiving, Hanson said, a short sermon appropriate to the day, a time of sharing from the congregation focusing on particular things to be thankful for, and a time of prayer.


“Obviously the goal is to focus on cultivating and expressing a thankful heart,” Hanson explained.  “Coming together for a worship service on Thanksgiving indicates that we are thankful not to ourselves or to other humans for the blessings we enjoy, but that our thanksgiving is directed primarily to God.”


The service will begin at 10:00 a.m. and will last about an hour, depending on the length of the congregation’s thanksgiving sharings. 

 

Hanson also noted that “Thanksgiving is the one official day that we as a nation are called to gather for worship…regardless of who is President.”  He stressed that the worship is not in any way partisan depending on who is in the White House, but an important event to come together for each year.