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Ā Thanksgiving Address
Always, we are grateful for you!
UUMFE shares this Thanksgiving Address as you prepare for meals and family gatherings over the next few days. If you choose to share it, feel the gratitude in your heart for all life around us that gives us so much and allows us to live.
Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of the book Braiding Sweetgrass was repeatedly
told by Haudenosaunee (pronounced: who-DIN-oh-show-nee; also known as the Iroquois) people that the words of the Thanksgiving Address are their gift to the world, and are meant to be shared. This address is also known as The Words That Come Before All Else, as it is traditionally spoken to greet the day, start a meeting, or before starting negotiations with other nations.
The Onondaga (“Hill Place”) people are one of the original five constituent
nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy in northeast North America. When
Kimmerer asked the Onondaga Faithkeeper Oren Lyons about sharing the
Thanksgiving Address in her book, he said, “Of course you should write about it. It’s supposed to be shared, otherwise how can it work? We’ve been waiting for five hundred years for people to listen. If they’d understood the Thanksgiving, then we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
Because permission has been given, UUMFE invites you to share it, and if you’re wondering about cultural appropriation, here isĀ a link from the UUA that’s helpful to us.
The Words That Come Before All Else
Today we have gathered and when we look upon the faces around
us we see that the cycles of life continue. We have been given the
duty to live in balance and harmony with each other and all living
beings. So now, we bring our minds together as one as we give our
greetings and our thanks to each other as People.
Everyone: Now our minds are one.
We are all thankful to our Mother, the Earth, for she gives us all
that we need for life. She supports our feet as we walk about upon
her. It gives us joy that she continues to care for us as she has from
the beginning of Time. To our Mother, we send thanksgiving, love,
and respect.
Everyone: Now our minds are one.
We give thanks to all the waters of the world for quenching our
thirst, providing us with strength, and nurturing life for all beings.
Water is life. We know its power in many forms — waterfalls and
rain, mists and streams, rivers and oceans, snow and ice. We are
grateful that the waters are still here and meeting their
responsibility to bring life to all of Creation. With one mind, we
send our greetings and our thanks to the spirit of Water.
Everyone: Now our minds are one.
We turn our minds to all of the Fish life in the water. They were
instructed to cleanse and purify the water. We are grateful that they
continue to do their duties, and that we can still find pure water. So
we send to the Fish our greetings and our thanks.
Everyone: Now our minds are one.
Now we turn toward the vast fields of Plants. As far as the eye can
see, the Plants grow, working many wonders. They sustain many
life forms. With our minds gathered together, we give our thanks
and look forward to seeing Plant life continue for many
generations to come.
Everyone: Now our minds are one.
When we look about us, we see that the berries are still here,
providing us with delicious foods. The leader of the berries is the
strawberry, the first to ripen in the spring. Can we agree that we
are grateful that the berries are with us in the world and send our
thanksgiving, love, and respect to the berries?
Everyone: Now our minds are one.
With one mind, we turn to honor and thank all the Food Plants we
harvest from the garden who feed us with such abundance. Since
the beginning of time, the grains, vegetables, beans and fruit have
helped the people survive. Many other living beings draw strength
from them as well. We gather together in our minds all the Plant
Foods and send them our greetings and our thanks.
Everyone: Now our minds are one.
Now we turn to all the Medicine Plants of the world. From the
beginning they were instructed to take away sickness. They are
always waiting and ready to heal us. We are happy that there are
still among us those special few who remember how to use these
plants for healing. With one mind we send thanksgiving, love, and
respect to the Medicines, and to the keepers of the Medicines.
Everyone: Now our minds are one.
We gather our minds together to send our greetings and our thanks
to all the Animal life in the world, who walk about with us. They
have many things to teach us as people. We are grateful that they
continue to share their lives with us and pray that it will always be
so. Let us put our minds together as one and send our thanks to the
Animals.
Everyone: Now our minds are one.
We now turn our thoughts to the Trees. The Earth has many
families of Trees who have their own instructions and uses. Some
provide us with shelter and shade, others with fruit, beauty and
other useful things. The Maple is the leader of the Trees, to
recognize its gift of Sugar to the People when they need it most.
Many people of the world use a Tree as a symbol of peace and
strength. With one mind, we send our greetings and our thanks to
the Tree life.
Everyone: Now our minds are one.
We put our minds together as one and thank all the Birds who
move and fly about over our heads. The Creator gave them the gift
of beautiful songs. Each day they remind us to enjoy and
appreciate life. The Eagle was chosen to be their leader, and to
watch over the world. To all the Birds ā from the smallest to the
largest ā we send our joyful greetings and our thanks.
Everyone: Now our minds are one.
We are all thankful to the powers we know as the Four Winds. We
hear their voices in the moving air as they refresh us and purify the
air we breathe. They help us to bring the change of seasons. From
the four directions they come, bringing us messages and giving us
strength. With one mind, we send our greetings and our thanks to
the Four Winds.
Everyone: Now our minds are one.
Now we turn to the west where our grandfathers, the Thunder
Beings live. With lightning and thundering voices, they bring with
them the water that renews life. We bring our minds together as
one to send our greetings and our thanks to our Grandfathers, the
Thunderers.
Everyone: Now our minds are one.
We now send our greetings and our thanks to our eldest Brother,
the Sun. Each day without fail he travels the sky from east to west,
bringing the light of a new day. He is the source of all the fires of
life. With one mind, we send our greetings and our thanks to our
Brother, the Sun.
Everyone: Now our minds are one.
We put our minds together to give thanks to our oldest
Grandmother, the Moon, who lights the nightātime sky. She is the
leader of woman all over the world, and she governs the movement
of the ocean tides. By her changing face we measure time, and it is
the Moon who watches over the arrival of children here on Earth.
With one mind, we send our greetings and our thanks to our
Grandmother, the Moon.
Everyone: Now our minds are one.
We give our thanks to the Stars who are spread across the sky like
jewels. We see them at night, helping the Moon to light the
darkness and bringing dew to the gardens and growing beings.
When we travel at night, they guide us home. With our minds
gathered together as one, we send our greetings and our thanks for
the Stars.
Everyone: Now our minds are one.
We gather our minds together to greet and thank the enlightened
Teachers who have come to help us throughout the ages. When we
forget how to live in harmony, they remind us of the way we were
instructed to live as people. With one mind, we send our greetings
and our thanks to these caring Teachers.
Everyone: Now our minds are one.
Now we turn our thoughts to the Creator, the Great Spirit,* and
send our greetings and our thanks for all the gifts of Creation.
Everything we need to live a good life is here on Mother Earth. Let
us pile up our thanks like a heap of flowers on a blanket. We will
each take a corner and toss it high into the sky. So our thanks
should be as rich as the gifts of the world that shower down upon
us. For all the love that is around us, we gather our minds together
as one and send our choicest words of greetings and thanks to the
Creator.
Everyone: Now our minds are one.
We have now arrived at the place where we end our words. Of all
the things we have named, it is not our intention to leave anything
out. If something was forgotten, we leave it to each individual to
send their greetings and their thanks in their own way.
Everyone: Now our minds are one.
NOTE: The Thanksgiving Address is told in many ways by many people. This version is a mash up between the one printed in Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book Braiding Sweetgrass and the one found at http://danceforallpeople.com/haudenosaunee-thanksgiving-address/ with a sprinkle of elder Tom Porter’s flair.
Again, grateful for each you and your work for climate justice.
Rev. Kelly Dignan
Also… join us for our annual Winter Solstice Worship
December 19, 2024
8-9pm ET | 7-8pm CT| 6-7pm MT| 5-6pm PT
The longest night of the year is a time we drop into stillness, honor the dark, release the pain and struggle of life. We also embrace the light of strength and courage. This year, UU Ministry for Earth (UUMFE) partners with the UU Service Committee (UUSC) and UU College of Social Justice (UUCSJ) to bring you worship, artistic expression, and stories from partners in Kiribati where climate justice is culture justice and disability justice.
Our guest speaker is Rev. Manish Mishra-Marzetti, UUSC Board of Trustees Co-Chair and Senior Minister of the First Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Ann Arbor, Michigan.
During the service, we will collect an offering which will be shared between UU Ministry for Earth and UUSCās partner Te Toa Matoa in Kiribati.