Beloved in Christ:  

Greetings in the precious and matchless name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

As we celebrate Thanksgiving, I give thanks to God for each and every one of you — clergy and laity — along with your loved ones for your commitment in keeping the ministry and mission going with vibrancy and faithfulness!

You have been faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ and the ministry and mission of the church in the midst of great challenges and difficulties. Your resiliency and faithfulness is deeply appreciated by me and the leadership team at the Conference! 

Most of us will celebrate Thanksgiving with abundance, but we know in our own communities, children go to bed hungry, and across the world, people die every day because they lack basic necessities like clean drinking water.

As we reflect on all of this and wonder how we can help, one of the lectionary passages for the Advent season reminds us that people during the time of John the Baptist asked the same question: “Then what are we supposed to do?” (Luke 3:10). John does not hesitate in his answer: He challenges them to show the marks of their baptism by sharing their resources with others. 

The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, said it beautifully, "Earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can." United Methodists have been trying to do this faithfully through the years. 

May I request that you reflect on Wesley’s words prayerfully and consider donating the cost of one cup of coffee/tea/soda or meal a day from Thanksgiving to Christmas to your local church in addition to what you have pledged? 

Your church will keep 50% of your donation to benefit local ministries and the other 50% will be used for the Conference and World Missions portions of your church's Mission Shares. If some churches collect more than they need, praise God! It will be put to good use. 

If you do not have a faith community, you may make a donation directly to the Conference online here or by sending a check payable to the New England Annual Conference with Thanksgiving Appeal in the memo line to:

Half of these funds will go to the Conference and World Missions and the other half will be donated to some of our Conference's neediest communities. 

Thank you for considering this Thanksgiving Appeal. Your generosity will have tremendous impact locally and globally. Together we can do great things for the Glory of God! 

Prema and I wish you and your loved ones a happy Thanksgiving and blessed Advent. 

In Christ's love, 

Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar