Last week we gathered in Uruguay for our first retreat, which was great opportunity to gather, share, and reflect together on our experiences so far. An important part of the week was to celebrate Thanksgiving, which takes on new meaning when we are—in many senses—so far from home. We all contributed something special to our time together, from music to devotionals to a hands-on comparison of our lives to the making of bread—which has communal and spiritual, as well as nutritional, importance. In light of the Thanksgiving feast, we also shared in an ongoing conversation about celebrating abundance in the midst of scarce resources. We all have been challenged by coming from situations of abundance to find ourselves in situations where resources are very scarce. Why is it that some people have too much food, and others don’t have enough—or none at all? How does our global economic system perpetuate and widen inequalities, and what can we do about it (as individuals? as citizens? as Christians?) And how do we relate earthly abundance with the ‘abundant life’ triumphantly proclaimed by Jesus? How can we be partake in that life, and how can we share it with others?
With all of that baggage in tow, the culmination of our week was the Thanksgiving Meal—somewhat improvised, but delicious nonetheless. We were staying on an organic farm, so most of our ingredients were fresh and pure. We had to settle for chicken instead of turkey, but the stuffing and green bean casserole had never been better. We even had fruity Jello, as well as apple crisp for dessert.
The cherry on top was singing Holden Evening Prayer after dinner. A very special evening indeed as we humbly celebrated our many blessings and offered simple songs to each other and to our awesome God. I know we all missed being with our families, but this Thanksgiving was certainly one we will not forget.
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