Thanksgiving in a Minor Key

Author: Mark Fenstermacher
November 26, 2020

These are strange days. I'll not dance around that in an attempt to put a positive spin on things: these are strange days. Many people are feeling a sense of loss since they cannot be with the family and friends they love, and our hearts ache to be around a table we can't join. The approach of the holidays may, in fact, add additional emotional stress: these are supposed to be happy days and some of us may feel pressure to appear happy even when our world is upside-down. 

Nora McInerny wrote a column in the November 21st New York Times titled You Don't Have to Fake It Through Thanksgiving. In her column, Nora talks about 2014 when her husband died after a long battle with cancer three days before Thanksgiving. The family gathered in an attempt to have a "normal" Thanksgiving. Nora's family did their best to pretend everything was the way it was supposed to be but Nora didn't feel thankful at all. Looking back on that first Thanksgiving after the death of her husband, Nora regrets the fact they all pretended the grief and the loss had been erased by Thanksgiving gladness. We should have been honest, she says now. We shouldn't have pressured ourselves to act normal and thankful. Sometimes what we need, she writes, is to acknowledge the pain. 

If there is one thing that the writers of the psalms teach us it is that we can be honest to God - and with ourselves. Don't let the pressure to be thankful and happy make a strange season even more difficult: it's okay to admit that things this year aren't "normal." We may feel grief. Most of us are yearning for "normal!"
Here is a thought: we can give thanks in a minor key.

Years ago, the music director I worked with was a Roman Catholic opera singer in Fort Wayne. When we were choosing hymns for worship, Carrie remarked, "You like hymns written in a minor key." That stopped me. One musician I later read explained it this way: "When you're listening to a piece of music, if the song sounds bright or happy...you're probably in a major key. Conversely, if the song sounds dark or gloomy and uses primarily minor chords, you're probably in a minor key." (Note: I would observe that songs in a minor key are not necessarily sad but are, in fact, often beautiful!)

I explained to my Italian Catholic friend that it must be the Welsh part of me that has an affinity for songs written in a minor key. Several very popular Advent/Christmas hymns, like "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel," "I Wonder as I Wander", and "What Child Is This?" are written in a minor key.

Songs in a major key add so much to our world, to our worship, but there is a place for beautiful songs written in a minor key.

So here is a thought: perhaps this week we can give thanks even if the song we're singing is written in a minor key. Our song may not be bright, brassy and upbeat, but still we can sing the Lord's song in a minor key and give thanks. 

Not because life is easy, or things are the way we want them to be, but to give thanks because God is faithful in every season and we have been blessed. I will still miss the people around the table, but I know that I have been blessed in so many ways. 

The verses in Philippians 4:4-7 come to mind: "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

We can give thanks this week (every week) even if it is a song written in a minor key.

Giving thanks even though the world is strange right now,
Pastor Mark

++++

Join us for worship on-line this weekend (the service premiers at 8:30 a.m.  here on our website, YouTube, and Facebook page) as we step into the season of Advent. We are beginning a new series of messages titled "The Characters of Christmas." 

Thank you to those who have expressed their love for God by completing a faith-promise card for 2021 and getting those to our church office. Generous giving is a joyful thing, and is a key to a life-changing relationship with Christ!

What about Christmas Eve? Our worship team is planning a beautiful Christmas Eve on-line service with wonderful music, prayers, and a Christmas Eve message. We are also watching what is happening with the COVID virus in our area, and if conditions allow we may offer several, brief (20 minutes each) Christmas Eve in-person services on the 23rd and 24th. These would be simple, beautiful and brief. Attendance would be by reservation and limited to 25 persons at each of the services. Watch for more information about Christmas Eve (and these other possible smaller, in-person Christmas services).

BACK