For the first time, the Cape Elizabeth United Methodist Church has created a Community Thanksgiving Tree for people in town to share what they are most thankful for.

A plastic pouch filled with blank paper tags and pens is fastened to the tree, so anybody who drives by the church can stop in and participate any time of the day, said church member Gail Parker.

The goal is for each person to write down a short note on a tag and then hang it on the tree in front of the church on Ocean House Road, she said.

“It’s community-wide, not just for this specific church,” Parker said.

“The idea is for people to take a minute out of their hectic, busy lives to actually think about what they are grateful for,” she said.

Parker said she hopes the tree will become a tradition that residents look forward to every fall. This year the tags on the tree will stay in place through the Thanksgiving weekend.

– Kayla J. Collins

Tags hang on a tree in front of the United Methodist Church in Cape Elizabeth offering short notes from community members describing what they are most thankful for. This one reads: “Beauty in the world around us. Friends and family; birds and dogs and cats and all such life.”