Dear Friends,

There are a few spiritual disciplines that I’ve discovered in the course of my life that have had a legitimate role in shaping me and helping me to become a more mature and genuine practitioner of the Christian faith. One of those disciplines is a conscious commitment to looking for reasons to be grateful.

A truth I’ve come to know as a person growing into Christianity (we’re all growing – no one has it figured out. Not even priests!) is summarized in Jesus’ simple teaching, “seek and you will find”. And I’ve learned that if I seek occasions of gratitude, I will find them. And when I find them, life feels better, and the Christian faith is more meaningful. So, I try to set aside some time each week to specifically look for reasons to be grateful: grateful to the people around me, and grateful to God for the blessings I might otherwise overlook.

The Vestry and I are practicing this search for gratitude as a part of our monthly meetings. We set aside a few minutes near the beginning of each meeting to specifically think about reasons we’re grateful and people for whom we are grateful. We say the names and the reasons out loud for each other and we record them, because we want to begin sharing this gratitude with all of you.

This is the list from our last meeting:

  • For all the people who assisted with Holy Week services and preparing for it
  • For Grace Mauk coming back
  • For the music on Easter
  • For police officers who have been assisting with breakfast incidents
  • For Michael Kidney for being involved
  • For Heather Meyer, specifically for the Toledo Grows connection and learning about pollinators

Look for more lists like this in Trinity Topics each month after our Vestry meetings. Of course, this is an incomplete list – they always will be. In a parish like Trinity that has so much going on, it takes a lot of people and a lot of passion to make this ministry happen. So, we hope that you’ll join us in seeking out these occasions of thanksgiving. If you notice something or someone that deserves our thanks, send me a quick email or text to let me know.

I hope you will find, as I have, the ways that being intentionally thankful enriches our lives every day!

Blessings,
Jon+