Scripture lessons for November 8

Our lessons for the 24th Sunday after Pentecost will come from Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-15 and Joshua 24:16-25.

Faithful in This Hour: An Election Eve Service of Prayer, Courage, and Commitment to the Common Good

On the eve of the 2026 U.S. midterm elections, join the General Board of Church and Society for Faithful in This Hour, a virtual service of prayer, discernment, and a renewed commitment to the common good. 

Through worship and intentional prayer, participants are invited to listen to members of the faith community and reflect on voting their values with humility and care, supporting equitable civic participation, and renewing their commitment to the work of justice beyond Election Day.

Monday, November 2, 2026 - 6:00 p.m.  

Register Now

Today at Glenville UMC

Joys

Thanks be to God for …

+ Kraig and Korla S.’ 59^th wedding anniversary this week.

+ Kraig and Korla S. getting a letter from Dale S. who is settling into his new life chapter in Owatonna. Reportedly, he is doing very well.

+ Simeon P. worshipping with us today.

+ Judy C.’ daughter Penny and her husband worshipping with us today.

+ Bob S.’ joy that the work done on the railroad tracks near their home is finally done. Now, it is much easier to access their home.

+ Roy B.’s excitement as they experienced @ 140 young treat-or-treaters who visited their senior living community in Albert Lea this past Friday.

+ A very good harvest – productive and profitable.

+ Collective gratitude of farmers who provide the food we eat.

+ Pastor Charles and Belinda’s joy that the cat they have also been feeding since last winter – that her three kittens were relocated to Mike and Cheryl R.’s daughter’s family farm. After the mama cat is on her own for a couple of weeks, she can go to the vet for necessary medical treatment. Then, she will be ready to be homed.

+ Praise God for the faithful service of our beloved pianist, Renae H., and for Roy and Nancy B. who served as ushers today.

Concerns

+ Praying for Jim N.’s combine and that it will be operational again … soon.

+ Praying for traveling mercies for those apart from us.

+ Praying for all who are dealing with medical challenges, specifically Shelley G.’s brother-in-law Craig, Bob S.’ friend Meryl B., Nancy B.’s sister Rose, Tony H., Sandy D.’s nephew Jay, a teenager who is very ill, Korla S.’ sister Kay and brother Kevin, Dawn K.’s great nephew Breken in Texas, and Janet J.

+ Praying for Mary N. whom Sandy D. visited last week. (She took one of Shelley G.’s handcrafted prayer shawls to her).

+ Praying that God gives the strength and courage caregivers need while caring for their loved ones.

+ Praying for all who are struggling with food and housing insecurity.

+ Praying for all impacted by extreme weather conditions.

+ Praying for all who are impacted directly and indirectly by conflict in the world.

+ Praying for peace.

Bulletin for All Saints Day

"Therefore, keep alert, because you don't know the day or the hour." - Matthew 25:13 (CEB)

Prelude Music

Welcome & Announcements

*Call to Worship:

We praise Creation's God: Blessings and honor, glory and power! Let each single voice praise God: Blessings and honor, glory and power! Let all voices together praise Creation's God: Blessings and honor, glory and power! Let the great multitude of nations praise God: Blessings and honor, glory and power! With all Creation, we praise God: Blessings and honor, glory and power! 

*Hymn: "Sing With All the Saints in Glory," #702

*Prayer: 

We seek and find You in Creation, O God, in the world You have made and the people You have called. Your vulnerable, powerful Lamb is our shepherd and guide, leading us to share the shelter of Your abundant life. Let us recognize You here in the beauty of this morning. May the Risen One, Your Shepherd-Lamb, lead us to act for Your justice and peace, so that all may drink from Your springs of the waters of life, and find their tears of sorrow and pain wiped away. In the name of the Risen One we pray. Amen.

*Gloria Patri, #70     

*Passing the Peace of Christ

Joys and Concerns

Pastoral Prayer & The Lord’s Prayer                                                  

*Doxology: #95     

*Offering Prayer

Epistle Lesson: 1 John 3:1-3

The Word of God for the People of God. Thanks be to God.

Hymn: "For All the Saints," #711

Second Lesson: Revelation 7:9-17

The Word of God for the People of God. Thanks be to God.

Sermon: "Our place in the throng" 

*Hymn: "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling," #384

*Benediction

*Choral Amen

 Postlude Music

 “The worship is ended; let the service begin.”

 *Please rise in body or in spirit.

A Time Change Prayer

Dear God, thank You for going before us in every hour and season of life. As we adjust our clocks and schedules, help us to rest in Your perfect timing. Calm our frustrations and renew our perspective when change feels inconvenient. Teach us to trust You in every moment, to make wise use of our days, and to keep our hearts grateful for the time You’ve given. Help us to embrace each hour as an opportunity to grow in faith, patience, and peace. Lead us graciously through every change — even this one — in a way that glorifies You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Reformation Day Litany

We give thanks for the gift of the Holy Spirit

whose light brought new understanding

of both the Living Word and the written Scripture.

We give thanks for the reminder

of consistent grace and mercy

from God through Jesus Christ.

We are grateful for the inspiration

that lead to the printing press,

enabling the spread of information

and the sharing of the gospel in many languages.

We thank God for the technologies

that can be used for good

for the support of communities and individuals.

Generous God,

we thank you for open hearts

that were prepared to hear and receive

the good news of freedom in Christ.

We also thank you

for our continued freedom in the Son

to share that same news of salvation

through your grace and Christ’s faithfulness.

We remember the lives that were lost

in the struggle to reform the church on earth –

those who were martyred,

those who died fighting,

those who perished in hiding,

and who were killed on all sides.

We remember also

the lives that have been lost throughout history

in the name of religion

and for those who die today for daring to believe.

We thank you for the instruction that comes

through our church heritage –

the catechisms,

the understanding of the saints,

the gift of community,

and a deeper appreciation

of God’s gift of Holy Communion

and Holy Baptism.

We thank you for the presence of Jesus Christ –

in us, with us, and for us –

and for the support of the Holy Spirit,

ever-reforming us.

God of stability and change,

we thank you that true reformation is always your work

and always being done in us

out of your love for your whole creation.

We are ever reformed by the work of your love. 

Semper Reformanda.

We are ever reformed by the work of God’s love. 

Semper Reformanda.

Written by lutherjulia, and posted on RevGalBlogPals. 

An All Saints Day message from Bishop Lanette

Beloved disciples in the Dakotas-Minnesota Episcopal Area,

Grace and peace to you in the name of the Jesus, who is our Alpha and Omega, our beginning and our end. 

On November first, the Church celebrates All Saints Day. John Wesley called it a festival he truly loved, and I understand why. On this day we give thanks for those who have gone before us into glory. We remember the saints of every time and place who carried the love of Christ forward through the ages. We also remember the saints closer to home, in our families, among our friends, and in our congregations, whose lives have left lasting marks of love, learning, and connection upon our own.

We remember those who first opened the stories of Scripture to us. We remember those who taught us to sing our faith, who held a candle beside us on Christmas Eve, and who prayed with us and for us through the years. They loved boldly, served joyfully, and led courageously. In them we caught sight of holiness of heart and life. The grace that worked in them now works in us, and the faith they carried has been placed in our hands.

Charles Wesley taught the people called Methodists to sing:

One family we dwell in him,
one church, above, beneath,
though now divided by the stream,
the narrow stream of death.

This is the communion of saints. It is not a distant destination. It is a living bond, sustained by grace. The letter to the Hebrews tells us that we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, cheering us on as we run the race set before us. They are with us in the sanctuary and at the kitchen table. They are with us at the bedside and in the fields at harvest. They are with us when we sing the hymns they taught us, when we keep the promises they made, and when we serve the neighbors, they loved. And whenever we gather at the Lord’s Table, we join our voices with all the company of heaven. In every place where love is shared and faith is kept, the stream between us grows narrow indeed.

Yet even as we give thanks for their faithful witness, we name our grief honestly. The Church has never asked us to hurry past it - though our culture does. At the tomb of his friend Lazarus, Jesus wept, even knowing what he was about to do. If our Lord made room for tears, we may make room for them too.

Grief is a journey of tears and laughter, of aching absence and memories that still bring a smile. It does not move in a straight line. It can catch us in the grocery store, in a familiar hymn, or at an empty place at the table. Grief is love that has nowhere to go but deeper into God’s keeping. It reminds us how much was shared, and how dearly we miss those who are no longer at our side.

For some of you, this will be the first All Saints with a name newly read aloud. For others, the loss is many years old and still tender. Some carry grief that is complicated, mixed with regret or with words left unspoken. Others grieve losses the world may not see: a pregnancy, a friendship, a congregation that has closed its doors, or a way of life that will not return. All of it is welcome before God. No grief is too small or too tangled for the grace that meets us there.

In his first letter to the Thessalonians, the apostle Paul does not tell us not to grieve. He tells us we do not grieve as those who have no hope. Our hope does not erase our sorrow. It holds our sorrow. Grief and hope are not opposites in the Christian life. They walk together, and the Holy Spirit, our Comforter, walks with both.

So, I invite you to be gentle with yourselves and with one another in this season. Speak the names of those you love. Let your congregation carry you when you cannot carry yourself. That is what it means to watch over one another in love. And if you are walking with someone who grieves, you need not have the right words. Your presence is often the truest sermon and the answer to unspoken prayer.

And as you remember, as candles are lit and names are spoken, and as tears mingle with gratitude, know that you are not alone. You are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, by siblings in Christ who walk beside you today, and above all by the God whose love endures from beginning to end and forevermore.

Near the end of his own earthly journey, John Wesley said, “The best of all is, God is with us.”

May you know that presence this All Saints Day, and always.

Thank you for your faithfulness, and God bless you.

Bishop Lanette Plambeck
Dakotas-Minnesota Episcopal Area of The United Methodist Church