How do Cedarville’s faculty and staff celebrate Thanksgiving?

by Sierra Perkinson

As the fall semester creeps to an end, both faculty and staff looked forward to the welcome rest of Thanksgiving just as much as their students did. 

Associate Professor of History Dr. Robert Clark often enjoys reflecting on Thanksgiving’s origins and being reminded of the uniqueness of the often overlooked holiday.

“Thanksgiving is a unique holiday…in the national sense of holidays,” Clark said. “Even different than Christmas, which is recognized in the American calendar, but it’s not a national holiday.”

The decision to mark Thanksgiving as a national holiday was meant to be in remembrance of God’s divine care.

“It was designated as a result of a sense of need to acknowledge God’s providence and the fact that as a nation we need to be a grateful people in our abundance and in our opportunity,” Clark said. “Of all of the holidays, Christians ought to be the ones who are holding on to the true biblical roots of this concept.”

For Clark, this remembrance has become part of his Thanksgiving celebrations. While his traditions have changed as he got married, became a father, and watched his children grow and leave the home, there has remained one constant tradition in his family’s celebrations.

“The meal can change, but we always share things that we’re thankful for this year, what God has done for us,” Clark said. “We often pray for those who are tempted not to be thankful…and we pray especially for the body of Christ that they would be full of the gratefulness of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Clark emphasizes remembering to be truly thankful on Thanksgiving, and not simply for the material, but most importantly for the grace the Lord has given to His children. 

Remembering Thanksgiving traditions and looking ahead to Christmas, both students and faculty are beginning to feel their motivation dwindle. Despite this, Clark encourages his students to keep their heads up and consider the entire race rather than the current leg they are running, remembering that these difficult periods are preparing them for future hardships.

“Short term periods of sprinting in the Christian life build endurance for the marathon. We really should not let down now, we will regret it when we need grit and resilience later,” Clark said. “As Christ is available in all his riches and the presence of the Holy Spirit, we really can endure, we can persevere…we can view this as an opportunity to demonstrate the power of God.” 

Where Clark tends to be quite reflective during Thanksgiving, Courtnie Kuhn, resident director (RD) of Bates, enjoys her family’s abundant festivities, cherishing the fun of being with her entire family each year. For her, time is spent celebrating Thanksgiving with both her mother and father’s side of the family.

“My family all lives on the same street…so we celebrate everything together,” Kuhn said. “What we do for Thanksgiving with my mom’s side is…we would go to somebody’s house, do the big meal, and then we would all play football together afterwards.” 

On her father’s side, however, there is excitement for the special “holiday” after Thanksgiving: Black Friday.

“Our biggest thing is Black Friday shopping,” Kuhn said. “We would leave at three in the morning and then go until three in the morning, and it’s always insane.”

Kuhn’s love for the holidays translates well into being an RD, as she enjoys brainstorming ways to serve her dorm especially during the holidays. Although travelling does not always allow her to host students, she does her best to leave small gifts for students in her dorm, and encourages the resident assistants to host smaller holiday celebrations as well.

“I have encouraged a ‘Friendsgiving’ kind of setting, even just a movie night, and you have fun little fall drinks…or even just cookies and baking together,” Kuhn said. “Being able to do little things like that where maybe you don’t even have a big thing, but you get a group of girls and you just make cookies or little goodie bags and you pass them out.” 

For Kuhn, ensuring the students feel appreciated during holidays like Thanksgiving is important, even if it is in small ways. 

Thanksgiving is a holiday that allows individuals to meditate on the ways God has poured out His abundant blessings, and Kuhn reminds students that they have been blessed with attending a school where they are surrounded by other believers and can be encouraged and find who they are in Christ. Therefore, as students reflect on the ways the Lord has been good, they should remember that the Lord has blessed them with the opportunity to grow in Him and remember that He is the One who determines our future and identity. 

“Yes, your studies are important, but this is the time to really dig in to who you are – who you are in Christ, finding a really firm foundation in your relationship with him, and then letting him guide you,” Kuhn said. “Yes, study, focus on that, but learn who you are before you go out into the world and the world tries to tell you who you are.”

Sierra Perkinson is a Sophomore Psychology student and reporter for Cedars. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, laughing, reading, and is fascinated by the human mind.