A Thanksgiving Poem by John Hurd, Kurn Hattin Homes, Class of 1919
John Laurence Hurd was a student at Kurn Hattin Homes for Children between 1913 and 1919. His literary accomplishments include the memoir entitled, Kurn Hattin, The Story of Home, and the following wonderful poem written by John “many years ago in celebration of friends and family at Thanksgiving.”
A Prayer of Thanksgiving
God of the sunshine, God of the rain,
God of the harvest on hill and plain,
Be with us now as, gathered here,
We count the blessings of the year.
Bless this feast, this board of cheer.
Bless the family gathered here.
Bless eager youth and elders grey.
Bless absent loved ones far away.
Accept our thanks for blessings past,
The solid things, the things that last.
For summer’s sun and winter’s snows,
For laughter of children, the bloom of a rose.
For profit to man from sweat and toil,
For the miracle bounty of the soil.
For the beauty of nature across the land,
For the friendly grip of a neighbor’s hand.
For hidden blessings we cannot see,
For these we give our thanks to thee.
God of the harvest, be with us when
We raise our voices in glad Amen.
