What are everyone's favorite devotions for thanksgiving? There are a couple of collects which I will be reciting at dinner tonight. And I'd also like to find a good old-fashioned liturgy.
My parish always does Morning Prayer on Thanksgiving at a time late enough in the morning that the cooks can have all of the long cook time dishes in the oven and their prep work done and be in the couple of hours break you get if you do Thanksgiving dinner as a mid-day meal. This was the order I used last year: A Form of Prayer and Thanksgiving to Almighty God HONOUR the LORD with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all thine increase; so shall thy barns be filled with plenty; and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. Prov. iii. 9, 10. The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens. By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew. Prov. iii. 19, 20. The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. Deut. xxxiii. 27. Israel then shall dwell in safety alone: the fountain of Jacob shall be upon the land of corn and of wine, also his heaven shall drop down dew. Deut. xxxiii. 28. Happy art thou, O Israel; who is like unto thee, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! Deut. xxxiii. 29. Confession and Absolution Minister. Let us humbly confess our sins unto Almighty God, ALMIGHTY and most merciful Father; We have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; And we have done those things which we ought not to have done; And there is no health in us. But thou. O Lord, have mercy upon us, miserable offenders. Spare thou those, O God, who confess their faults. Restore thou those who are penitent; According to thy promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, for his sake; That we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, To the glory of thy holy Name. Amen. Minister. ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, who of his great mercy hath promised forgiveness of sins to all those who, with hearty repentance and true faith, turn unto him; Have mercy upon you; pardon and deliver you from all your sins; confirm and strengthen you in all goodness; and bring you to everlasting life ; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. The Lord's Prayer Our Father. . . Minister. O Lord, open thou our lips. Answer. And our mouth shall show forth thy praise. Minister. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; Answer. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Minister. Praise ye the Lord. Answer. The Lord’s Name be praised. The Anthem O PRAISE ye the LORD, for it is a good thing to sing praises unto our God : yea, a joyful and pleasant thing it is to be thankful. The LORD doth build up Jerusalem : and gather together the outcasts of Israel. He healeth those that are broken in heart : and giveth medicine to heal their sickness. O sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving : sing praises upon the harp to our God. Who covereth the heaven with clouds, and prepareth rain for the earth : and maketh the grass to grow upon the mountains, and herb for the use of men; He giveth fodder unto the cattle : and feedeth the young ravens who call upon him. Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem : praise thy God, O Sion. For he hath made fast the bars of thy gates : and hath blessed thy children within thee. He maketh peace in thy borders : and filleth thee with the flour of wheat. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son : and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be : world without end. Amen. The Readings The Psalter. First Lesson. Deuteronomy 8. Canticle. Benedicite, omnia opera Domini. O ALL ye Works of the Lord, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever. O ye Children of Men, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever. O let Israel bless the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever. O ye Priests of the Lord, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever. O ye Servants of the Lord, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever. O ye Spirits an Souls of the Righteous, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever. O ye holy and humble Men of heart, bless ye the Lord : praise him, and magnify him for ever. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son : and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be : world without end. Amen. Second Lesson. 1 Thessalonians 5:12-24. Canticle. Jubilate Deo. O BE joyful in the Lord, all ye lands : serve the Lord with gladness, and come before his presence with a Song. Be ye sure that the Lord he is God; it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves : we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. O go your way into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise : be thankful unto him, and speak good of his Name. For the Lord is gracious, his mercy is everlasting : and his truth endureth from generation to generation. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son : and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be : world without end. Amen. The Apostle's Creed I BELIEVE in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth: And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary: Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and buried: He descended into hell; The third day he rose again from the dead: He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty: From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost: The holy Catholic Church; The Communion of Saints: The Forgiveness of sins: The Resurrection of the body: And the Life everlasting. Amen. Prayers Minister. The Lord be with you. Answer. And with thy spirit. Minister. Let us pray. O Lord, show thy mercy upon us. Answer. And grant us thy salvation. Minister. O God, make clean our hearts within us. Answer. And take not thy Holy Spirit from us. The Collects For Thanksgiving Day. O MOST merciful Father, who hast blessed the labours of the husbandman in the returns of the fruits of the earth; We give thee humble and hearty thanks for this thy bounty; beseeching thee to continue thy loving-kindness to us; that our land may still yield her increase, to thy glory and our comfort; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. For Peace. O GOD, who art the author of peace and lover of concord, in knowledge of whom standeth our eternal life, whose service is perfect freedom; Defend us thy humble servants in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in thy defence, may not fear the power of any adversaries, through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. For Grace. O LORD, our heavenly Father, Almighty and everlasting God, who hast safely brought us to the beginning of this day; Defend us in the same with thy mighty power; and grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither run into any kind of danger; but that all our doings, being ordered by thy governance, may be righteous in thy sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. For all in Civil Authority. O LORD, our heavenly Father, the high and mighty Ruler of the universe, who dost from thy throne behold all the dwellers upon earth; Most heartily we beseech thee, with thy favour to behold and bless thy servant The President of the United States, and all others in authority; and so replenish them with the grace of thy Holy Spirit, sufferings and a happy issue out of all their afflictions. And this we beg for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. A General Thanksgiving. ALMIGHTY God, Father of all mercies, we, thine unworthy servants, do give thee most humble and hearty thanks for all thy goodness and loving-kindness to us, and to all men; We bless thee for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all, for thine inestimable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we beseech thee, give us that due sense of all thy mercies, that our hearts may be unfeignedly thankful; and that we show forth thy praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to thy service, and by walking before thee in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen. Another Thanksgiving. MOST gracious God, by whose knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew; We yield thee unfeigned thanks and praise for the return of seed-time and harvest, for the increase of the ground and the gathering in of the fruits thereof, and for all the other blessings of thy merciful providence bestowed upon this nation and people. And, we beseech thee, give us a just sense of these great mercies; such as may appear in our lives, by an humble, holy, and obedient walking before thee all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, be all glory and honour, world without end. Amen. A Prayer of St. Chrysostom. ALMIGHTY God, who hast given us grace at this time with one accord to make our common supplications unto thee; and dost promise that when two or three are gathered together in thy Name thou wilt grant their requests; Fulfill now, O Lord, the desires and petitions of thy servants, as may be most expedient for them; granting us in this world knowledge of thy truth. and in the world to come life everlasting. Amen. 2 Cor. xiii. 14. THE grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. Amen. Here endeth the Order of Morning Prayer. You may notice the Benedicite Omni Opera Domini is truncated. We actually did the entire Canticle one year and the organist said never again. I have to twist her arm a little bit to even get her to do the shorter form. But I think it is a particularly appropriate text for Thanksgiving Day.