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Thanksgiving. This is an odd year to give thanks. Usually, I give thanks for the things I know and appreciate. This year, nothing is the same. This year, all those old usual things I’d give thanks for have been ground up and boiled down to some very basics. I’m thankful I’ve survived this pandemic (so far). I’m thankful no one in my immediate family has tested positive (so far). It seems like every day I learn of a new church member, friend, or family member who have tested positive. We do have a Karges contest going for who’s been tested the most; daughter Katie and husband Eric are in first with five negative tests, daughter Emily is next with three negative tests. Our son Zack and his fiancé Mandy, and I have one negative test each (so far). I’m thankful everyone in my family still has jobs (mostly). Some have been cut back to less-than-full time a bit. I’m thankful for the foresight of our Trinity Trustees who purchased new lighting and cameras for the sanctuary a couple years ago. Then they upgraded our 30-year-old soundboard in the balcony to a new digital one along with new computers in the tech booth. I’m thankful we’d already been live-streaming our Sunday morning worship for about a year before COVID hit, so we’d already worked out a lot of the bugs around miking the organ, piano, electric piano, and singers up front. I’m thankful for Tim Victor and Josh Bergmeier who are always looking for ways to improve our technology capabilities for worship in the sanctuary (especially my “Kelly-prompter”). I’m thankful for our music staff (Dane, Carolyn, Brenda, & Kim) and volunteers who have faithfully kept offering their gifts and talents to make our live-streaming on Facebook worship as much like “normal” as possible. I’m thankful for our Trinity Staff who just keep rolling with the punches and finding creative ways to keep being the church amidst this pandemic. Right now, four out of our eight staff have tested positive for COVID and are at different stages of recovery; Allie, Susan, Jason, and Geoffrey. I’m thankful for our Trinity leadership who’s had to make hard decisions about masks and social distancing and in-person worship (or not). Even though it’s just me and Cindy on Thanksgiving Day this year, we’re still having cut-down portions of turkey, green bean casserole, dressing, mashed potatoes, and Grandma Karges’ pineapple casserole. It just seems like the right thing to do. Each food item has historical significance. We’ll be zooming with our kids and with my Mom and my side of the family. I invite you to do your boiled down Thanksgiving list this year too. I think it helps as we wade through this difficult time together. Grace & Peace,   Rev. Kelly Karges Senior Pastor Trinity UMC