Sunday, January 19th: Prayer of Blessing & Prayer of Thanksgiving. Prayer is the interiorizing of the Incarnation, the Word become flesh in us. Rooted in the Jewish prayer of blessing (the berakah, beginning with the words "Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, Sovereign of the Universe")--for Christians prayers of blessing occur before meals, over people before travel, before surgery, at birthdays, and over articles of faith. To bless is to recognize God's action in our world and to pray for God's help in a specific way. On the other hand, Prayer of Thanksgiving (from the Greek word eucharistia--referring to the act of giving thanks to God)--includes any expression of gratitude to God for blessings great and small. Our principal act of thanksgiving as Christians occurs when we gather as a community on Sundays and other days to offer "The Great Thanksgiving" for God's saving work in Jesus' life, death and resurrection. Join us at 9:00 and bring your experiences for what may be an interesting discussion of blessings and thanksgivings offered by and for God's people. Everyone is welcome.