Thursday Doors–Come Ye Thankful People

Somehow, I knew that with Thanksgiving always being celebrated on a Thursday, that my choice for Thursday Doors was going to be thankful. I knew it and yet, I couldn’t quite figure it out. Then, on Sunday morning, it hit me. Well, it was more of a she, and she didn’t hit me, she impressed me. I read Natalie’s beautiful post where she featured some of the final blooming flowers from her garden. She also talked about bringing flowers into her greenhouse so she would have flowers to view and tend to during the winter. That reminded me of the hymn mentioned in the title and that made me think of St. John’s Episcopal Church.

We were members of this church for a few years. The Anglican Church didn’t recognize Thanksgiving as a holy/holiday, but Father Peet liked to connect the dots between giving thanks, the things we had to be thankful for and He from whom those blessings flow. I need to be careful that I don’t get tangled up in another hymn. Anyway, Father Peet held a service in which we could bring the bread we were serving for Thanksgiving dinner and have it blessed.

We would place our bread in a large basket when we entered the church. The servers would bring the basket to the altar when they brought up the gifts of bread and wine, and Father Peet would bless the bread. The basket would contain everything from homemade loaves, to store-bought bread, to coffee cakes and desert breads and once included a tube of Poppin’ Fresh Crescent rolls – who doesn’t love those?

We were members of this church during a somewhat challenging period for the building. You may not be able to tell, but the siding on the buildings is vinyl. In the mid-1980s, both the church and the rectory had to be repaired and painted, and the congregation wanted to expand the community center. There wasn’t enough money to do all that work. As if often the case in small congregations, there wasn’t really enough money to do any of that work. The building committee recommended starting a fundraising campaign in order to raise money over a two-year period. To keep the contributions in an acceptable range, the decision was made to cover the buildings in vinyl siding, but to use period-specific siding and trim on the church and the rectory. The buildings look good, but the experience illustrates how hard it is to maintain these buildings.

The Rectory, with the shaped shingles and gingerbread trim was hard to see be covered in vinyl, but the crews did a wonderful job.

Come Ye Thankful People Come

I once had the privilege of climbing the tower and winding the clock.

Now I need a line and pole filter

It’s interesting to see the pump jacks on the building again. There’s always work to do.

A Little Free Library. So good to see this on the front lawn of the church.

I need a line filter.

The back half of the building was added when the church was renovated,

An old standard, this was sung at Thanksgiving as long as I can remember.

If you’re not familiar with Natalie’s Sacred Touches blog, you might want to check it out. She has a wonderful way of tying together beautiful photos, some thoughtful words and a bit of scripture to help start your day with a moment of reflection.

Thursday Doors is inspired by Norm Frampton. You can visit the other doors and you are welcome to share your favorite doors with us. You have until Saturday at noon to tag your photo.

Happy Thanksgiving to the door followers in the United States. If you folks in other countries want to share in the traditions of this day, I’d recommending going straight for a slice of pie, topped with a generous amount of whipped cream.