|
|
Dorothy Copus Brush Thanksgiving more than just food this year Thanksgiving 2001 was different from other
years. Scores of citizens took time to sort through their confused
feelings about where they were headed and to reflect on what
their priorities should be. For those surrounded by family and
friends as they gathered at the table for the annual feast, the
prayer of thanksgiving was coupled with the plea to comfort those
thousands of broken families grieving the loss of loved ones. Yes, this Thanksgiving, as none I remember,
carried a message that nothing should be taken for granted. Each
day is a gift to be cherished and savored. Then the chaplain explained those words were
written by a German pastor who lived during the 17th century.
His name was Martin Rinkart and at that time a religious war
was raging in Europe. Disease, siege and slaughter went on all
around him. Rinkart conducted 50 funerals a day, not unlike the
New York clergy today. It has been estimated that he presided
over 5,000 funerals in his lifetime. He was the last minister
to survive in his little German town. And yet, enveloped in all
that horror, he wrote those words of thanksgiving which have
endured for centuries. Thoughts of Sept. 11 were present this Thanksgiving.
The tragedy tore away the veneer that hid people's inner thoughts
and was replaced with an unexpected openness as people expressed
their faith. I thought of a radio show years ago that started
the day for many. It was Don McNeill's Breakfast Club and each
morning there was a moment of silence for "each in his own
way, in his own words" to pray. All these years later an evil act changed the silence to the spoken word. At Ground Zero, candles were lit to banish the gloom with hope. But the courage shown by workers, volunteers, survivors and broken families burned even brighter. It was, Now thank we all our God, with hearts and hands and voices, in action. · · · |