What is gratitude? What does it mean to be grateful? How would you finish this sentence: Grateful people are _______________.

These are some of the questions that Diana Butler Bass explores in her book Grateful: The Subversive Power of Giving Thanks and that we will be exploring this fall as we grow in the spiritual practice of gratitude. As Bass spells out in her book, living life with an attitude of gratitude can have a huge impact on our individual lives, as well as our communities and world. Multiple studies have shown the physical, emotional and spiritual benefits that come with being grateful. Grateful people also tend to be more aware of the world around them and eager to make sure others can also enjoy its benefits, which leads to greater empathy with other people and engagement in their communities.

Even more important, however, is that for us people of faith, gratitude is at the core of our relationship to God and everything God has created and given us for life and faith. All of life is a gift from God – from the air we breathe to the food we eat, the work we do and the people with whom we share life and love. When we recognize and live from this fundamental truth, our lives become an offering of thanksgiving and praise to our Loving Creator, as we seek to share God’s abundant gifts with the world around us.

Join us in the coming weeks, as we grow in gratitude together as a church. We have so much to be grateful for at FPCY! As we celebrate the many gifts God has given us, we will be challenged and inspired to respond with joyful generosity, so that our church can continue to be a vibrant community of faith committed to sharing God’s good gifts with our community and world.

See you in church, Tami