As we enter November, the harvest is almost completely gathered in Clinton County and the beauty of fall is upon us.

When driving into work each day this time of year, I catch beautiful sunrises that warm my heart and remind me of God’s beautiful creation. This month for me is one deeply tied to gratitude and developing an attitude of gratitude.

In a few short weeks, our families will be gathering for Thanksgiving. It is a time to feast and share a harvest meal together.

At Faith Lutheran Church, we take time to share thanksgiving every week — we call it Eucharist. It happens in that Christ gave his body and blood for us to be nourished. Eucharist means thanksgiving.

This reminds me of the words of a Marty Haugen song designated for the gathering of the offering. “As the grains of wheat once scattered on the hill were gathered into one to become our bread; so may all your people from all the ends of earth, be gathered into one in you.”

Christ gathers his people together to share a meal his life and invites us to be part of this life. Part of God’s beauty is the church as the body of Christ. I am grateful for this.

As I write over the next month, I hope to share the multiple reasons that God has created a grateful heart within me. It starts with Eucharist a.k.a. Thanksgiving.

Where do you find gratitude in your life? What nourishes you in Thanksgiving? It might be something as simple as a beautiful sunrise, a simple meal, time with family, or just being gathered together.

We will explore these together.

Let’s reflect on gratitude this month as a reminder of God’s gifts given to us.

As we gather, we bring those gifts and begin to realize that all is gift. Everything in our lives is a gift from God. Even our lives themselves are gifts from God.

For this, I am grateful. Hopefully you are, too!

Joel Richter is Pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Washington.

This weekly column is provided to the News Journal on a monthly rotation basis by members of the Wilmington Area Ministerial Association.