This week’s inaugural e-minder aims to help you through the Thanksgiving holiday. This year, the observance is especially poignant, since the Thanksgiving feast may actually offer Americans a heightened sense of appreciation as they contemplate scary headlines about the economy.
Call it “the upside of a downturn.” At tables across the country, people may be rethinking life’s ultimate values and rededicating themselves to family and faith. That’s the take of this Washington Post story, “In Tough Times, Rethinking Wealth.”
As you cast about for other Thanksgiving stories, you may also want to consider these ideas:
Race relations
In African-American churches, members are rejoicing over Barack Obama’s presidential win. But the sense of pride cuts across race lines. As Andrew Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, writes in this New York Times blog item, a Pew survey taken a few days after the election poll “finds the voters giving Mr. Obama better grades for his conduct during the campaign than any presidential candidate since 1988. Seventy-five percent of the sample gave Mr. Obama a grade of A or B grade for his performance, while 24 percent gave him a C, D or F.” Indeed, white evangelicals may have voted for John McCain, but indications are that they did so in spite of Obama’s race and not because of it. In fact, the nation’s megachurches tend to be more multiracial than most older churches, and many evangelicals have worked hard to build up biracial ministries. This Thanksgiving, a giant step forward in race relations may be one thing all Americans can feel grateful for.
For further resources on this topic, see an RL edition, “Race and religion in America,” along with our source guide on African-Americans and religion and our tip on the growth of multicultural congregations.
Forgiveness
In many cities across the nation, groups of virtual strangers sat down for a vegetarian meal last Thursday while they talked about forgiveness and compassion. The occasion was an Amazing Faiths Project Dinner Dialogue, one of a series of small gatherings in private homes intended to foster tolerance and understanding of religious differences. Even if you missed the dinner, there’s bound to be a group of local churches or synagogues hosting Thanksgiving services bringing together different faith groups.
Ending hunger
As Americans get ready for the big feast, they’re also more mindful of the presence of hunger. A new poll from the Alliance to End Hunger shows that 83 percent of Americans think hunger is a problem in the United States, and 59 percent believe it’s a growing problem around the world. What are local congregations or nonprofit groups doing about hunger in your city? Are local food pantries well stocked? Are churches seeing an increase in the number of people asking for assistance with grocery bills? (Note: The Alliance to End Hunger expects to break the numbers down by religious affiliation this week. Check back with the alliance for further information.)
