Say Grace: Thanksgiving Mealtime Blessings and Prayers

Whether you are celebrating Thanksgiving with family or alone, it is valuable to take a moment for a prayer of thanks. In this special season of love and gratitude, Unity ministers and friends share mealtime blessings for Thanksgiving and any meal.

Shared Gratitude

We bless this table with laughter and the beautiful mosaic of stories and traditions that gather here. 

May our time at this table feed both our hunger and our souls. May our words be seasoned with kindness and our silence filled with grace. 

Gratitude fills and blesses the space between us, spilling over plates, over plans, and over every difference we once believed was real. 

As our gratitude becomes its own language shared in laughter, in silence, in memories, in stillness, and in tears, may we remember that love never measures, only multiplies. 

—Rev. Kathy Beasley  

For Those We Love

As we gather to share this meal together, let us lovingly remember the many things for which we are grateful. 

We give thanks for our families and our friends. We honor our dear ones who have passed. Let us pause to say or whisper their names, with love. 

We give thanks for this food, blessed in all the steps of its creation and now blessing us today. 

We are so grateful. We are so blessed. Centered in gratitude and with prayers in our hearts, we send out blessings of love, peace, and well-being to all people, everywhere. 

—Rev. Bronte Colbert

Our Thanksgiving Heritage 

Before we share this beautiful meal, let’s take a breath together and give thanks. We remember the first Thanksgiving and the courage and tenacity of those early settlers who faced an uncertain future with faith and hope. We also honor the generosity and wisdom of the Native peoples who shared their knowledge and their harvest. Like them, may we open our hearts to the abundance before us and to the love that connects us all. For the food, the friendship, the laughter, and the grace that carry us forward, we give thanks. Amen. 

—Rev. Kurt Condra

In Honor of All Who Feed Us

Note: I am sharing a version of the prayer my family shares at almost every meal. It has become so special to us. I hope it resonates with you.—C.G. 

On this day of gratitude, we pause to honor all that is unseen yet essential. 

We send love to every hand and heart that helped bring this meal to our table—to those who planted, tended, harvested, packaged, transported, sold, and prepared our food. 

We give thanks for any animals who gave their lives for our nourishment, and to Mother Earth, who endlessly sources and sustains us. We honor this sacred exchange of giving and receiving, 
of life nourishing life. 

As we are fed, may we remember our shared belonging and affirm: May all be fed. May all be nourished.

—Rev. Christina Garza 

Prayer for a Feast

Pausing in anticipation of this nourishing meal, 
Already we are feasting. 
Feasting on the love within us, around us, among us. 
Feasting on beauty, on bounty, on well-being. 
Feasting on the mystery of oneness. 
Reveling in appreciation, we celebrate life. 

—Rev. Linda Martella-Whitsett 

Thanks for Simple Joys

As we gather together, the invitation is to pause in this moment and breathe into the blessings that are present in our lives.   

We give thanks for the healing power of laughter with loved ones, and the simple joy of a shared meal that nourishes and revitalizes us—body, mind, and spirit.  

With deepest gratitude and appreciation for the hands that have made this food possible, for the company gathered here today, and for our time together, we do give thanks.  

Amen. 

—Rev. DeeAnn Weir Morency

Grateful Even When Stressed

I bless and give thanks for all the wonderful people in my life. I am thankful for my family members, even those who may stress me out at times. I see myself surrounded and enfolded by a spirit of happiness, joy, peace, and abundance. I give thanks for my good that is manifested and yet to be manifested. 

I bless everyone who so lovingly prepared this food, and I am thankful knowing that it will replenish us in mind, body, and soul, enabling us to do the mighty work we are each destined to do. 

—Rev. Saba Mchunguzi

Manifesting Peace

Today many of us gather in a celebration of gratitude for all our blessings. Let’s acknowledge any external divisions as nothing but distractions from peace. At this table, we claim the truth that there is only oneness and there is only love. We recognize that every human is of God and deserving of abundance and respect. In one accord, let every table this Thanksgiving embody peace and love, regardless of opinions. Amen. 

—Rev. Sheree Taylor-Jones 

Grateful for It All

With a reverent breath, I align with Spirit. Feeling divine love coursing through me, I send that love and appreciation out across the miles and moments of my life. In prayer, I allow gratitude for everyone and everything I have ever loved to move through me now in sacred silence. 

Time and distance disappear as I savor all the wonderful places, people, and experiences that have brought me right here, right now. I feel joyful appreciation for the journey that has grown me, and excited anticipation for new people and places on the path ahead.  

With a grateful heart and a willing spirit, I pray and declare it to be. And so I say, amen.

—Trish Yancey

A Quiet Moment

As I take this moment to give thanks, I feel my heart expand and my soul rejoice. 

I focus on all the blessings that surround me. In each one of them I can recognize God's presence and love. 

This quiet moment of sacred communion fills me with joy and peace. How wonderful, empowering, and rewarding it is to know I always have something to be thankful for. 

On this special day, I take a deep breath, and as I exhale, I affirm from the depths of my being and with renewed devotion: Thank you, thank you, thank you, God. Amen 

—Rev. Beatriz E. Gallerano Bell

A Gratitude Meditation for Thanksgiving, and Every Day

No matter the circumstance, Thanksgiving can be observed as a sacred day of gratitude, when we come to the table with love and appreciation for friends and family and life itself. 

Anytime we sit down to eat, whether alone or with others, taking a moment to bless the meal and express thankfulness for abundance allows our hearts to pause on the good in the world. 

When we express gratitude before a meal, we gather in the spirit of thanksgiving. With a prayer over our table, we acknowledge the blessings and abundance in our lives.