Litany of Thanksgiving

Celebrating Legacy Churches

Give thanks to the Lord, for God is good.

God’s steadfast love in Christ endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord, for God is good.

God’s steadfast love has given us salvation through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Give thanks to the Lord, for God is good.

God’s steadfast love provides resurrection and new life.

Merciful God, you have gathered us as your Church, and filled our hearts with your love through song and praise. You have heard confessions and forgiven sins. You have lifted sorrows and made us glad in celebrations. We praise and thank you for our fellowship and your love, for our meals and our meetings, for our ministry and our mission, and for all that you have been for us in our life together.

Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices.

We give you thanks, O God, for the rich legacies of Savannah, Laurel Hill, Hebron, Bessemer, McAdenville, Vance Memorial, Rhodhiss, Green Valley and the Village Church, among the churches of the Western North Carolina Conference.

Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices.

O God, our help in ages past, these churches were built with loving hands and loving hearts. We are grateful for all those who sacrificed and gave of themselves for the formation and sustaining of these churches. We are grateful to you, O God, for giving vision to those who have gone before.

Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices.

Gracious God, in these churches members baptized their children, professed their faith in Jesus Christ, established new families and said goodbye to loved ones.

Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices.

In years gone by, O God, your sons and daughters from these congregations offered Christ to others through acts of kindness, generosity and faithfulness. Loving hands made prayer shawls, cooked and delivered countless meals to others in the community, and packed food boxes and backpacks for those who were hungry.

Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices.

Loving God, we are thankful for all the ways in which these congregations lived out for generations the mission given to them by Jesus Christ.

Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices.

Today we rejoice that these legacy members remain part of Christ’s ongoing Church as they are welcomed into new church homes where they will continue to love and follow Jesus, and make disciples for the transformation of our communities and world.

Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices.

O God, our hope for years to come, your great love and rich mercy continually give us new life in Christ.

Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices.