AUBURN – Giving thanks, a tradition observed regularly during the early years of the country, was established as a national Thanksgiving Day holiday by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War in 1864. Lincoln called upon all residents, including Southerners, to join together in a day of “fervent prayers and supplications.”

For more than 100 years, the First Church of Christ, Scientist, 79 Lake St., has been gathering with other members of the Lewiston/Auburn community in recognition of the spiritual meaning of the day.

A public service at 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 27, will include the President’s Thanksgiving Proclamation and scriptural readings with explanatory texts from “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures” by Mary Baker Eddy.

To pick up a free copy of the text of the Thanksgiving Bible lesson in advance, stop by the Reading Room on Lake Street any weekday between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. or call 782-0012 to have one mailed free. Everyone is welcome.