Thanksgiving

Mission and Ministry

Wampanoag leader Ousamequin (left) and Plymouth Colony Gov. John Carver are depicted smoking a peace pipe as they worked out a treaty of peace and mutual protection on March 22, 1621. The U.S. Thanksgiving Day tradition has mythologized the relationship between the Wampanoag and the English settlers, but the harsher realities provide vital lessons for United Methodists today. Image from the California State Library’s Sutro Library, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

The making of Thanksgiving in the US

With this year marking the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrims’ arrival in North America, it’s worth revisiting the good — and the bad — of how the U.S. holiday developed.

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