On Wednesday, November 18th Casserly House volunteers, Board members, After School Program students and other community members joined staff on Zoom for our annual Thanksgiving Prayer Service. Although meeting online was different from past years of prayer services, it was a blessing to see everyone together.
During the Prayer service everyone had a chance to reconnect and say hello to familiar faces, which some of us hadn’t seen since March. Prayers were shared and a few of the After School Program students read poems. Casserly House has been completely virtual the past few months and the ESOL and After School Program have looked quite different. All ESOL and ASP meetings have been one on one with tutors and students over Zoom. Usually during the month of November, the students and tutors in the After School Program discuss gratitude daily and students reflect on what they are thankful for. In keeping with tradition, tutors and students discussed what they were thankful for at the beginning of each Zoom lesson. During the prayer service we shared what students expressed gratitude for this year as a thankful tree. While the image of the tree was shared with the whole group, all participants were given a chance to express what they were grateful for this year. This was a wonderful way to come together via Zoom and celebrate the Casserly House community.
This may be a year that is especially difficult for many to find things to be thankful for, but by coming together on Zoom we were all reminded of the gratitude we have for each other and our community. We must remember to stay socially connected even while we must physically distance from each other.
Casserly House is thankful for our staff, volunteers, students and everyone who has made the past months of virtual lessons possible. Happy Thanksgiving!