Thanksgiving Appeal 2026 from Bishop Lanette
Hello, friends, I greet you this day as I lift to you our Dakotas Thanksgiving Offering through the prophet Jeremiah.
God spoke to the people in exile, saying,
“Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”
That's from Jeremiah chapter 29:7.
What a powerful word for us as United Methodists across the Dakotas Conference. Our lives are bound together through our churches and through our communities. Jeremiah is clear– when our neighbors flourish, we flourish. When we invest in the welfare of others, God forms us more deeply in love, generosity, and joy.
It is in that spirit that we enter into this year's Thanksgiving Offering to support food sustainability at Spirit Lake Ministry Center.
You may recall at the 2026 Annual Conference, Kim and Paulette Paulson, our directors at Spirit Lake Ministry Center, shared the work already underway in their community garden. They also shared with us their dream of raising cattle as part of their commitment to form children, to learn about producing healthy food, and to do so through honoring native tradition.
This summer, in preparation for the dream, mission teams helped build fences, and then something wonderful happened. A neighbor donated a cow, and another friend of the ministry donated the processing costs. The end result will be many families nourished through generosity. It's a beautiful example of what happens when people take one faithful step, and God opens new possibilities.
And now it's our turn to take a faithful step.
I invite you and your congregation, perhaps even your neighbors, to give generously to the Thanksgiving Offering. Your gifts will support the food sustainability projects at Spirit Lake Ministry Center.
Friends, to seek the welfare of our neighbors, to trust that our flourishing is bound together, and to join the Spirit's work already unfolding among us, is what it looks like to serve joyfully.
Click here to donate via Vanco.
Thank you for your generous gifts to this project. Thank you for the way in which you share your heart and your resources.
And may you have a blessed and beautiful Thanksgiving.
Bishop Lanette Plambeck
Dakotas-Minnesota Episcopal Area of The United Methodist Church
To donate directly to the Thanksgiving Appeal online, use this Vanco link.
