Thanksgiving

I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. Ephesians 1:15-16 

Beloved in Christ, 

As we gather around tables this Thanksgiving (whether in large family circles or in quiet gratitude), my heart is full of thanks for the many signs of God’s abundant love and presence among us in this diocese. 

I remember the story of my grandfather in Oklahoma–one of ten siblings gathering year after year around a long table full of every kind of meat, vegetable, and dessert imaginable–family coming together, strangers becoming known, blessings woven through shared stories. 

That memory still reminds me: gratitude is rooted in deep relationship, in sharing what we have, and receiving what comes in love. 

What I am thankful for this year:

I give thanks for our life as a diocesan community — the way you, clergy and lay, staff and volunteer, churches and ministries, have stepped into this season of discipleship with courage and hope. In our Year of Discipleship, we are reminded that following Jesus calls us into growth. 

I give thanks for our witness in the world, even in difficult times. In June, I shared reflections on conflicts and turmoil, both global and local, and invited us to hold the world in prayer. I am deeply grateful for the way our churches, our actions, and our hearts live into the gospel of peace, justice, and reconciliation. 

I give thanks for hope and courage — courage to love when love is hard; courage to serve when service stretches us; courage to speak truth when speaking costs something. Because we are a people called to courageous love, we can trust God to bring new life in the face of fear. 

May this Thanksgiving become more than a one-day occasion. May it become a time to refocus our hearts toward noticing the good around us, naming our gratitude, sharing our table, and widening our circle. In the gathering and the giving, may we see Christ already among us. 

In Christ,
+Bishop Susan Brown Snook
Episcopal Diocese of San Diego