Now Thank We All Our God, ELW 839
1 Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things has done, in whom this world rejoices;
Who from our mothers' arms, has blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.
2 Oh, may this bounteous God through all our life be near us,
With ever joyful hearts and blessčd peace to cheer us;
And keep us all in grace, and guide us when perplexed;
And free us from all harm in this world and the next!
3 All praise and thanks to God the Father now be given;
The Son, and Spirit blest, who reign in highest heaven;
The one eternal God, whom earth and heaven adore;
For thus it was, is now, and shall be evermore.
Devotion
Our congregation is celebrating a "season of gratitude" this fall beginning with Stewardship Sunday on November 6 and concluding with a Thanksgiving Eve service. The liturgy and environment will draw these weeks of worship together with common threads, including this hymn as our offertory response. The first verse calls us to thank God with our hearts, our hands and our voices, a beautiful reminder of the many ways we show praise and that God made our whole beings for rejoicing!
Prayer
God of abundance, your changing seasons stir up gratitude in our lives. Be present in the gifts we give and the meals we share as autumn turns to winter and our gratefulness bears anticipation of your coming. Amen.