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We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing;

He chastens and hastens his will to make known;

The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing;

Sing praises to his name; He forgets not his own.

 

This traditional Thanksgiving hymn comes with new meaning this season. Whereas gathering together in church, around the family table or in a cozy restaurant was something that came with no thought last year, such events require careful consideration in 2020, the year of the pandemic.

There was a haiku I came across the other day that explains the situation rather well: “We isolate now, so when we gather again, no one is missing.”

This Thanksgiving will be different. Perhaps, like other things during this time of readjustment, there will be silver linings and other good things that come out of this time of cautious separation. Somehow, a Thanksgiving Day family Zoom call seems much less inviting than the traditional gatherings.

This issue of Farmville the Magazine aims to tackle some of those issues. Marge Swayne examines how church gatherings have changed. Many churches have adopted online or drive-in formats. Passing the Peace is not a simple thing anymore. Even the sacred rite of communion requires its own set of precautions.

Titus Mohler talks with families about how they are handling this time and how the Thanksgiving holiday will look differently, or not, for many in the area.

Alexa Massey sat down with some local preschool children and had them tell her how they would fix a turkey. The results were quite interesting. If area families follow these kids’ recipes, cases of salmonella will far outnumber coronavirus this holiday season.

Our resident hunting expert Francis Wood tells us how to hunt a turkey, and it doesn’t involve going to the meat counter at Food Lion.

There’s also pumpkin pie, holiday movies and a story about how a young Republican has turned into one of the area’s leaders in the social justice movement.

Thanks for reading and everyone have a great Thanksgiving!!!

Roger Watson is editor of Farmville the Magazine. His email address is Roger.Watson@FarmvilletheMag.com.