Kiwi Thanksgiving
During the times we have lived in Canada, Jill and I have really enjoyed celebrating both Canadian and American Thanksgiving meals with friends and neighbours. It has often struck us that we Kiwis could benefit a great deal from incorporating a Thanksgiving celebration into our annual calendar. This year we finally got around to organising one and celebrated the meal with the families in our local small group/community. It’s now going to become a regular part of our calendar. We recommend it. Here’s some details and thoughts should you be interested in trying it out for yourselves:
TIME OF YEAR The most natural time in the year to enjoy a Thanksgiving is towards the end of autumn – coinciding with harvest season. However, one of the challenges of doing this in the Southern Hemisphere is the potential clash with Easter – particularly if Easter is later (mid to late April) rather than early (late March/early April). This past year (2011) we chose to hold our Thanksgiving on the last weekend of May – approximately five weeks after Easter. An alternative time of year might be October/November (which is when the North American Thanksgivings are held – at the end of their Fall).
MEAL Your own preferences will determine what type of food you plan for, and how you organise the meal. We chose to go with a “pot luck”, with some degree of co-ordination, asking people to bring their favourite dish. We considered all contributing to a lamb roast/s (very Kiwi!) but decided that because this was the meat we used in our Passover/Easter celebration just a few weeks earlier, two special meals of lamb so close together was not ideal! We also considered buying a leg of ham, but in the end settled for people bringing their own special dishes. If they are uniquely Kiwi dishes (like Pavlova) then all the better. However, the important thing for us was making it a “special” meal without it being too onerous, and sharing the load so that no one person/family had to “do it all”.
INVITATIONS Celebrations like this are a great opportunity to include friends, neighbours, workmates and family members. We found it easier for our core community members to have a small attractive flyer/invitation to give to people when they asked them. The flyer carried all the details of the celebration.
INCLUSIVENESS We shaped the celebration in a way that was inclusive for our friends, neighbours and family who don’t have a Christian faith. One of the wonderful things about Thanksgiving is how universal and relevant it can be to all people – regardless of ethnicity, socio-economic background, or religious conviction. The “liturgy” we wrote is mindful of this diversity, but also adds a distinctive Christian flavour.
ROOM LAYOUT AND DECORATION A key decision is determining whether to hold your Thanksgiving in a home (the preferential and most natural setting) or a more public communal space. Anticipated size of the gathering will clearly determine this. Given that our core community consists of five families and that we were intending to invite other people, we reluctantly decided to bypass one of our homes (which clearly would have had the advantage of greater intimacy and homeliness) in favour of a larger space. This enabled us to cater for approximately 40 people.
Table/s – we laid out our tables in a U shape, to provide for a degree of cohesiveness. Tables were decorated with white tablecloths, candles, autumn leaves, and mini pumpkins.
Harvest Table – we set up a table toward the front of the room, attractively covering it with produce and flowers. Not only did it add to the decoration of the room, but it provided a focal point for people to bring their gifts of produce during the celebration (note: a specific opportunity is given in the liturgy). These gifts of food and produce were taken the next day to a refugee family one of our group knew, who were struggling to put food on the table. In a smaller group held in a home, it may be possible to create a focus at the centre of the meal table for this purpose.
Picture drawing spaces – we also set up away from the meal tables, other tables/spaces for children and adults to move to after the main course, to draw their pictures (see liturgy). A3 pieces of paper and felt tips and crayons were provided. If held in a home, another room might be the best space for this – away from the kitchen and dining area.
Audiovisual – we set up a screen and data projector to play the photo collage (see liturgy). If held in a home, a TV or computer screen would be sufficient for this purpose.
PROGRAMME/LITURGY At each table setting we had a copy of the programme/liturgy – see below, for people to follow and participate in. Once everyone had arrived and was seated, a short explanation of the evening was given, with people volunteering (or being asked) to take a small speaking role. Maximum involvement should be aimed for. The liturgy here is broken into speaking parts for one MC, nine “readers” and four children. If these parts are pre-assigned, with the MC jotting down on their programme who has volunteered for each part, then the evening will flow much better. Please note that the division of speaking parts below is only a suggestion. Feel free to divide up the liturgy whatever way works for your own context. (And of course, change, add, delete parts of the liturgy that might better fit your situation and people.) Our programme was laid out in a stapled brochure format, with a few photos/pictures added in, and an attractive front cover. Note: the bracketed italicised comments in the liturgy below are explanations for you and were not included in the printed brochure.
Here is the text we developed:
KIWI THANKSGIVING
MC: Welcome to our Kiwi Thanksgiving
READER 1: In North America, it is traditional to gather together once a year for a special celebration to give thanks for all the good things they enjoy. This occurs at the end of the harvest season (fall/autumn) once the crops and fruit have been gathered. As part of this special celebration, people cook a festive meal and retell some of their most important family, community and national stories.
READER 2: We too have much to be thankful for. While giving thanks should be a daily part of our lives, we believe it is important to make special times to remind ourselves and each other of the wonderful things in life.
MC: Tonight we want to celebrate and give thanks for all we enjoy and appreciate here in Aotearoa/New Zealand. As we eat and talk, laugh and reflect, let’s express our thankfulness and gratitude.
CHILD 1: Why should we give thanks?
READER 3: We give thanks because we have been given so much. When we appreciate all that we have – rather than dreaming of all that we don’t have – it changes the way we view our lives, each other and God. It also affects what we value and give our energies to.
CHILD 2: Who should we give thanks to?
READER 4: We give thanks to each other – to Mums and Dads, children and loved ones. We give thanks to friends and to teachers, those who have gone before us and those who influence us now.
But most of all, we give thanks to God – the creator and maker of all we enjoy; the one who wants us to experience full and rich lives.
CHILD 3: What can we give thanks for?
MC: Let’s make a list of all that we can give thanks for.
(People to share ideas – you may choose to write up a list on a whiteboard/paper)
OUR KIWI STORY
MC: We give thanks for our uniquely Kiwi story:
Our Land
READER 5: Aotearoa/New Zealand is a special land. It is rich and fertile, able to grow lots of plants and crops, fruit and vegetables, seafood and livestock. From feijoas to kumara, kiwifruit to crayfish, tamarillos to avocado, terakihi to lamb, we enjoy a huge variety of produce.
As a way of saying thanks and as a reminder that not everyone in our city has enough, we bring gifts of produce to be distributed to others.
Children and adults to take produce to the Harvest Table.
READER 6: Aotearoa/New Zealand is also a beautiful country – full of forests and farms, rivers and mountains, lakes and beaches, parks and gardens, buildings and walkways, sunrises and sunsets, birds and animals. We have pukeko’s and silver ferns, weka’s and totara, tuatara and kowhai, tui’s and pohutukawa, kiwi’s and kauri. We have glaciers and golden-sand bays, hanging valleys and rocky shores, wetlands and rain forests, fiords and thermal wonderlands. Such variety and splendor, all in one land. Let’s take time to reflect on this land of ours.
Contemplative Audio Visual
Our Story
READER 7: All people who have come to live in this land and call Aotearoa/New Zealand home, can give thanks for the story of how we came to be here. Whether our ancestors arrived on these islands hundreds of years ago in a waka, last century in a ship, or even if we flew here last year on a plane, we can all appreciate the privilege of being a Kiwi.
Today we particularly take a moment to remember the birth of our nation in 1840. Those who signed the Treaty of Waitangi had a good vision for this land. They dreamed of two peoples becoming one nation, of mutual respect for each other’s cultures and treasures, of a life together in harmony and peace.
READER 8: While our story has often not lived up to these high ideals, we remind ourselves today that much that is good about Aotearoa/New Zealand is a result of people who have worked to make a more just, prosperous and compassionate society, free from prejudice, inequality, corruption and conflict.
We remember the wise and careful stewardship of many who have looked after and developed the land – shaping farms, building parks and places of beauty, protecting forests, seashores and waterways. We are grateful for those who have built cities and businesses, community organisations and governmental structures.
For all these people – past and present, we give thanks.
GRACE
MC: So let’s now eat and enjoy the good produce of our land.
However, before we begin let’s acknowledge our appreciation by saying “grace”.
CHILD 4: Why is giving thanks before a meal often called “grace”?
READER 9: Another word for “grace” is “gift”. So when we say “grace” before a meal we are thanking God for all his good gifts to us.
It’s easy to think that what we have is the result of our own hard work, intelligence and creative genius! However, even the good things we produce through the work of our hands and minds are only possible because God has given us abilities, skills and intelligence in the first place.
MC: So let us give thanks:
Dear God
We admit that it is easy to take all the good things and people in our lives for granted. We have been given so much to enjoy. Particularly in this land of Aotearoa/New Zealand. We thank you for each other, for the gift of friendship and love, for the beauty of your world, for the tasty food we are about to enjoy together. For all these things, we give you thanks. Amen.
MAIN COURSE
Picture drawing
(Have available in spaces other than the meal table, A3 size sheets of paper and felt tips, for children and adults to draw what/who they are thankful for. Encourage everyone to take part and give ten minutes to the exercise.)
Story telling
Opportunity for people to share about someone who has influenced their life and who they are thankful for.
EVERYONE: “For the people in our lives who have helped make us into what we are today, who have cared for and loved us, taught and guided us, we give thanks.”
Opportunity for people to share about their favourite season in the year and why they give thanks for it.
EVERYONE: “For the seasons of the year, the colours they bring, the produce they harvest, the richness and variety they add to our lives, we give thanks.”
Opportunity for people to share about their favourite place in New Zealand and why it is so special.
EVERYONE: “For the special places in our land each of us have, the memories they provide, the beauty and joy they have brought, we give thanks.”
Opportunity for people to share about a particular ability or passion they have.
EVERYONE: “For our gifts and abilities, personalities and perspectives, and for our uniqueness, we give thanks.”
DESSERT
In closing
MC: We have come to the end of our special Thanksgiving meal. It has been good to give thanks. Doing so has reminded us of how lucky we are to live in this country and to have each other.
Let us commit to being people and families who make a habit of being thankful.
And let us also commit to sharing the good things we enjoy with those who have little – in our neighbourhoods, our community, our nation and this world.
COFFEE AND TEA
Comments
Leave a Reply
