Enter God’s gates with thanksgiving!
For God is good; God’s steadfast love endures forever.
God’s faithfulness to all generations. – Psalm 100: 4a, 5
Lakeside is beautiful in every season of the year, but with the leaves changing color, autumn is especially enchanting. The Psalmist had the Temple in Jerusalem in mind when he wrote, Enter God’s gates with thanksgiving, but as we go through the gates of Lakeside it is equally appropriate that we pause and give thanks.
On the cusp of our Sesquicentennial Celebration, let us give thanks for the vision and foresight of those who established Lakeside almost 150 years ago. Let us pause in gratitude for those who have maintained and enhanced these hallowed grounds making Lakeside the second largest Chautauqua in North America.
Let us take a few moments to thank God for those who work so hard to sustain and enhance the program, the grounds and the outreach of Lakeside Chautauqua.
As we walk along Lake Erie, the words of Shakespeare come to mind, Blow, blow, thou winter wind. Thou art not so unkind as man’s ingratitude. Let us also have thankful hearts for those who invest in Lakeside businesses, cottages and all those who choose to spend all or part of their summer on these grounds.
Finally, let us give thanks for the passion and energy that keeps us unsatisfied with things as they are, and inspires us to reach higher and go further. Truly, the best years of Lakeside are ahead of us. May we all catch that vision and remember that God will be with us in the future as in the past, for God’s steadfast love endures forever.
Happy Thanksgiving!
