Thanksgiving Appeal Letter 2026

October 2026

O give thanks to the Lord, for the Lord is good;
God’s steadfast love endures forever.
Psalm 107:1

Thanksgiving is a time of being thankful, but that can be hard. This morning one of the volunteers with New Hope stopped by my office and shared how the world was in big trouble. This wasn’t coming out of a specific incident, just the routine news. It’s true that there are lots of tragic things happening in the world, but there is hope.

God promises to be with us. We’ve been hearing about this on Sundays in the stories of Abraham, Joseph & Moses. Examples continue throughout the Bible as people experience hard situations and God stays with them. Situations of hunger, sickness, abandonment, oppression, betrayal – even in and through death. God doesn’t promise to make life a vacation, but to be with us… and that things will get better.

And, when we look, there is news. . .

…of things getting better. According to the website ‘Fix the News’ the Northern Cod population has gone from critical to healthy, with an increase in commercial fishing (kept below sustainable levels). Free school meals are expanding around the world, helping children to stay in school, and be healthier. The UN reports that global hunger fell for the third year in a row.

I mentioned some food related examples because food is an important part of Thanksgiving celebrations. It started as a time to give thanks to God for the harvest with a wonderful feast. Sadly, there are many in our neighbourhood who struggle to have enough food on a regular basis, let alone a feast. In the Gospel According to John, Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry.” One of the ways this happens is through the body of Christ – the Church. In the neighbourhood around the church this includes our ‘pay-what-you-can’ pizza and movie nights, the St. Monica’s Food Pantry (that we support with our drop box), and the Food Depot (started by churches).

Jesus, through the church and other organizations, also reaches many places that are worse off than here. As part of our learning we no longer just fly-in food and put farmers out of work. We now partner with local organizations to provide training, seeds, and ‘equipment’ (such as goats). This year we are collecting money to help farmers in the Global South learn to improve and multiply their crops, protect their land, and sell their produce. Some examples of how the money will be used through the Presbyterian World Service & Development (PWS&D) include:

• $20 supplies seeds for a household garden
• $70 provides one goat for income and nutrition (milk & cheese)
• $100 trains a farmer in climate smart agriculture and high value crops

We thank you for your support, pray that you will see hope and have a beautiful Thanksgiving.
Rev. Peter Rombeek