Talking Turkey: How to Have Grace-Filled Thanksgiving Conversations (Even If You’re Voting Differently)
At Thanksgiving, Christians will gather around the table, share food, and give thanks to God. But let’s be honest—when you add a heaping side of political divisions to that turkey dinner, things can get messy, especially when your Evangelical Republican aunt or Episcopal Democrat cousin drops a comment that lands like a grenade in the middle of the mashed potatoes. God have mercy!
With American Thanksgiving just around the corner, most of us will gather with family or friends. Yet, according to Pew Research Center (2023), six in ten Americans feel stressed and frustrated when political conversations come up. While we love our turkey and pie, and get stressed talking about politics, our connections with family still transcend political identities. Your Christian mom may have once worried about how to talk to you about not attending church. This Thanksgiving, she might be wondering how to talk to you about who you voted for.
A Spiritual Formation to Address Loneliness and Division
And to complicate matters, we’re also in the midst of a loneliness epidemic (The New York Times, 2024). For many of us, stepping out of our social-political bubbles for even just a few hours on November 28th can feel challenging. For many of us, our spiritual formation has not helped us develop the emotional and relational skills to care for our tender, God-centered hearts while also being open to others.
Yet, Christians have a unique opportunity this Thanksgiving to witness to God’s love—not through winning arguments, but through how we listen to each other with patience and speak to each other with kindness. Will we "talk turkey" with grace and kindness, feeding our collective need for belonging, or will we starve it with division?
You are Invited!
To help navigate these challenging but important conversations, I’m offering a 2-hour online workshop/retreat on Saturday, November 2, from 11 AM - 1 PM EST called, "More Observations, Less Judgment: Seeing Others Through God’s Eyes to Build Grace-Filled Conversations." This is the first of a 4-week series designed to help Christians communicate in ways that deepen, not divide, the relationships that matter most. Come to one session, or come to all!
Resources:
Pew Research Center. (2023, November 20). For Thanksgiving: 6 facts about Americans and family. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/11/20/for-thanksgiving-6-facts-about-americans-and-family/
The New York Times. (2024, August 27). The loneliness epidemic and the cure. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/27/magazine/loneliness-epidemic-cure.html