St. Joseph hosts ecumenical Thanksgiving service that brings Norris community together
By Bill Brewer
St. Joseph Church served as host of the Norris Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service on Nov. 24 and welcomed members of Catholic and Protestant faiths to share in the Gospels, a Christian message, and fellowship as the faithful in Anderson County and around the country prepared to give thanks for all that God has provided.
Deacon Dan Hosford, who serves at St. Joseph, was the master of ceremonies and introduced three members of clergy from the Norris community who took part in the ecumenical service. Father Dennis Kress, who shepherds St. Joseph and St. Therese Parish in Clinton, was the host pastor but couldn’t attend as he was on medical leave.
Rev. Amanda Lippe of St. Francis Episcopal Church in Norris delivers a reading during the Norris Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service on Nov. 24 at St. Joseph Church. (Photo Bill Brewer)
Joining Deacon Hosford were Rev. Brandon Berg of Norris United Methodist Church, Rev. Amanda Lippe of St. Francis Episcopal Church, and Dr. Bill Ireland of Norris Religious Fellowship.
Collections from the offering went to the Norris Good Neighbors program. The organization, which provides food, clothing, and toys for families in need for Christmas, comprises representatives of Norris-area churches.
Deacon Hosford said the annual service that rotates among churches in Norris is a special time when the faith communities in the town can join together in thanksgiving to God. And he noted that his fellow members of the Norris clergy enjoy fellowship several times a year.
“We sometimes get together and share a meal and good stories, but mostly it’s about how thankful we are for the people of Norris, for the people of this community, and how wonderful you have treated each of us and each other, and how the community has grown in fellowship,” Deacon Hosford said.
“And we really appreciate all that you do for us. We pray this evening that we are of service to you as well,” he added just before the multi-denomination congregation sang the opening hymn, “We Gather Together.”
The four presiding members of clergy agreed that getting together in a house of worship to pray, listen to God’s Word, and break bread is inspirational, especially at poignant times of the year like Thanksgiving and Advent.
Deacon Hosford led the Call to Worship and gave the opening and closing prayers. Rev. Lippe and Rev. Ireland gave the readings for the service, quoting from Deuteronomy 8:7-18 and Psalm 65. And Rev. Berg delivered the sermon.
In his message, Rev. Berg based his remarks on the Gospel of Matthew. Quoting from Scripture, the Norris United Methodist Church pastor asked why the faithful worry about such things as clothes or food when God has assured His people that He will provide.
Rev. Berg encouraged the congregation to not be weak of faith and instead have confidence in God’s Word.
Dr. Bill Ireland of the Norris Religious Fellowship also gives a reading during the Norris Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service, which rotates among Norris churches each year. (Photo Bill Brewer)
“Don’t worry about ‘what are we going to eat?’ or ‘what are we going to drink?’ or ‘what are we going to wear?’ Gentiles long for these things. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them,” Rev. Berg said. “Instead, desire first and foremost God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness, and all of these things will be given to you as well.”
Rev. Berg listed a number of things he is thankful for, including his family and his larger church family, which includes two churches, as well as the beauty of God’s creation in Anderson County and East Tennessee.
“I’m thankful that these little churches know how important it is to work with other folks in the community, that we don’t have to reinvent the wheel, or do everything on our own, that we understand that connection is essential to doing the work of Jesus,” he said.
“We bear each other’s burdens,” noted Rev. Berg, who also is pastor of Sinking Springs United Methodist Church in Clinton.
He acknowledged that it is difficult for some people to be thankful as they experience sadness and tragedy. But in pointing to the teachings of Jesus, he said “thankfulness is revolutionary.”
He warned against coveting as stated in the Ten Commandments.
“You don’t need anything that God doesn’t already provide. Don’t worry so much about not having all the ‘right stuff.’ Don’t get all jealous of your neighbor’s ‘shiny new wheels,’ he said.
“Getting all jealous and wanting more than you need is doing nothing but ensuring that somebody else doesn’t have it,” he continued. “That’s a pretty poor way to love your neighbor, don’t you think? God knows what you need.”
He encouraged those in attendance to step into the practice of not needing more than you need, God will provide for everyone, he shared.
He pointed out that what all God provides wasn’t theirs in the first place.
“We’re just holding it in trust for the Giver of all good gifts,” Rev. Berg said. “We are the students of creation. So, be thankful for what is surrounding you. Share your thankfulness around. It’s more contagious than a cold on an airplane. And it will make you a whole lot less miserable.”
He encouraged the congregation to start a “thankfulness revolution.”
“Short-circuit those conversations that are angry and ugly. Your thankfulness will fly in the face of all that fear and all that contempt. Folks may not know what to do with it. Maybe, just maybe, they’ll see that it’s a better way to be,” he said.
Rev. Brandon Berg of Norris United Methodist Church gives a brief sermon at St. Joseph Church for the Norris Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service on Nov. 24. Ministers of different faiths in the Norris community in Anderson County gather several times a year in fellowship and also hold services at Thanksgiving and Easter to celebrate Jesus Christ and His message to all. (Photo Bill Brewer)
“Thankfulness is revolutionary. It fundamentally changes our hearts. It focuses us on what is important. It makes us strive for things that are divine. It sets our sights on God’s reign, not forcefully but by default. It moves us inch by inch toward extravagant love, toward radical generosity,” he added.
Rev. Berg shared that this is the kind of revolution Jesus has in mind for everyone.
“I hope you all can get on board. This is as good a time to start as any. Right? Thanksgiving seems appropriate. Just spread the peace; spread the gratefulness; share the thankfulness around. It’s just a little thing. But God will make it great big,” Rev. Berg concluded.
Deacon Hosford said he appreciated the words of Rev. Lippe, Rev. Ireland, and Rev. Berg.
The congregation and clergy then gathered in the St. Joseph parish hall for fellowship and the sharing of desserts.
Rev. Ireland said he was uplifted by the significance at this time of year of different denominations joining in Christ’s name to bring a message of hope and inspiration and to break bread together.
“I think it’s one of the greatest witnesses a church can have at this particular time in our country, when everybody is so divided and at times so full of anger, for churches of different traditions to come together and say we may not agree on absolutely everything, but we will worship together and love one another and love our neighbor. That’s the best you can do,” Rev. Ireland said.
Rev. Lippe said the Norris Community Thanksgiving Service shared by different churches in the Norris community has been a blessing from God.
“I feel that doing our ecumenical services has been a blessing to not only our community but to us as ministers. We come together, and we pray for our congregations. We lift each other up when we need to. To be in this community where love is so deep and so central to who we are as a community is really important to us ecumenically among our churches and in our community. It is a blessing to be able to serve here with these men,” Rev. Lippe shared.
Deacon Hosford said the ecumenical service shows the unity of the body of Christ.
“As mentioned in our homily, we try to support each other in small communities growing larger in heart and spirit and living together. The significance is that we celebrate a country that itself shows its unity, this mixing pot of love and faith and ethnicity. So, we try to support one another and treat each other as God asks us to, to love one another,” the deacon said.
Deacon Hosford, who was ordained a deacon for the Diocese of Knoxville in 2007, noted that the members of Norris clergy from different denominations are friends as well as colleagues.
“We get together about four times a year to break bread ourselves and to just talk,” the deacon said.
Rev. Berg described Methodists as a “very connectional church.”
“To come into a community like Norris, where we realize together across ecumenical lines, across denominational lines, how important connection is. How important it is to keep those relationships is incredible,” Rev. Berg said.
“It helps us to do things together that we would have no hope of doing individually because we are all small churches, as are most churches today. But if we come together, we have this incredible skill set, this incredible well of gifts that everybody brings to the table. They all get along, and it’s really beautiful,” he added.
He noted that the Norris clergy are a close-knit community.
“It’s really neat to be in community with them. They are really great people. They are wonderful, and it’s great to work with them,” Rev. Berg pointed out.
Sally Jackson, a St. Joseph member and volunteer who took part in the ecumenical service, said there is much to be thankful for as the Norris churches gathered together.
Mrs. Jackson cited Rev. Berg’s sermon and agreed that the natural part of Norris is beautiful and connects all the various congregations.
“It’s always good to give thanks. We gather twice a year for Holy Week and for Thanksgiving. We circulate among the different churches, and it’s always beautiful and wonderful to be together,” Mrs. Jackson said.
While Margaret Donaldson and her husband, Bill, live in North Knox County, they attend Mass at St. Joseph. And they appreciate the closeness of the Norris community and their St. Joseph family.
“This is a very close-knit community. And to see all these people come together to hear the message of God that these ministers provide, and their camaraderie, is wonderful to see. You don’t always see that,” Mrs. Donaldson shared.
Mrs. Donaldson noted that some church communities can be very insulated and even unwelcoming.
“It’s not that way here. Everyone is welcoming to every other church for services like this. We do this twice a year just before Advent and then again at the end of Lent. These ministers love being together,” she said.
