Gratitude, Security and Hope
Rev. Jeanne Randall-Bodman
“The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and even soften the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.”
Abraham Lincoln, Thanksgiving Proclamation, October 3, 1863
I’ve been thinking a lot about gratitude, security, and hope during these fraught times in America. I find it easy during anxious times to lose sight of all I have to be grateful for. To fear rather than welcome the future. In the UCC we speak more often of God’s presence than God’s providence, but perhaps that old fashioned term, with a modern twist, has something to offer us in this moment.
The great 20th century theologian Paul Tillich said this about providence:
“Providence does not mean a divine planning by which everything is predetermined, as is an efficient machine. Rather, Providence means that there is a creative and saving possibility implied in every situation, which cannot be destroyed by any event. Providence means that the daemonic and destructive forces within ourselves and our world can never have an unbreakable grasp upon us, and that the bond which connects us with a fulfilling love can never be disrupted.”
No matter the outcome of the midterm elections, no matter what disruption or repair follows them, let’s hold fast to the hope that
“’a divine planning by which everything is predetermined’ is not our fate. Rather it is creativity and possibility, in the world, the cosmos, and in ourselves, that has an unbreakable grasp upon us. It is our response to events that shape our human future.
“Here's to creative and saving possibility... and a love that can never be disrupted.
“Come what may.” *
* the Rev. Canon Marianne Borg, October 27, 2026 email