One day, decades ago, I woke in the wee hours of the morning and wrote a few pages in a notebook before walking the dog. The next day, a few more words flowed, followed by another day, and another, until weeks later it became the habit that still grounds me.

Embedded within my writing ritual is noticing when the sun rises. It first peaks up behind my neighbor’s house and by the time the light reaches the treetops, I’ve reflected on the prior day and set my sights on the new day.

Over these past few weeks, the waning daylight signals we are slipping further into fall. It reminds me to notice the gift of time – not just the days but the overall movement of our lives, how we honor our history and shape our legacy.

In the weeks looking forward, we will stop to mark several significant milestones and give thanks.

On October 31, we praise the courage of the faithful who reformed the church five hundred years ago. The Reformation celebrates the hard-fought battle to place in the hands of the people the governance of the church, recognize Scripture’s authority, and welcome God’s Holy Spirit into our collective interpretations.

At Westminster, we amplify this milestone’s meaning by holding a congregational meeting to elect officers to lead our church into the future.
On November 7, we gather at Christ’s table and remember the saints who passed before us and call by name particular lives who were laid to rest in this past year.

On November 14, I will be installed by Pittsburgh Presbytery. I remain humbled by your call to serve and feel such energy for our future. Usually, installations occur outside of Sunday worship, but we received the blessing to conduct this at 11:00 a.m. to encourage as many as possible to share in our milestone as a congregation.

On November 21, we mark the end of the liturgical calendar and the Reign of Christ now and always.
Although not part of our liturgical calendar, Thanksgiving remains my favorite holiday for the simplicity of merely saying thank you to God for the blessings.

This poem by Presbyterian pastor, poet, and hymnist J. Barrie Shepherd encompasses gratitude we offer to God for these and all the blessings in our lives.

To Give Thanks

To give thanks
is to remember how it feels
to experience belonging, to look long
around a laden table and be glad to claim
a place among that gathered company.

To give thanks is to remember
what has been – time's bewildering recital –
and, despite so much, to look ahead
with undiminished hope.

To give thanks is to recall with heartache
all those absent from the assembled,
the dear departed, those, too,
who never made it in the first place,
due to loss, or want, foul fortune, being born
at the wrong place, at the wrong time.

To give thanks takes all that might have been,
all that we are and yet might be, and shapes it new
around a fuller, richer, broader future feast.

J. Barrie Shepherd

In faithful service,

Jo Forrest