- Mrs. Lefevre, early English Methodist leader
As this day draws to a close, we place before you our nation, our communities, and one another.
For those who are anxious, grant peace. For those who are weary, grant rest. For those who are hopeful, grant wisdom. For those who are afraid, grant courage. For those who are grieving, grant comfort. For those who are celebrating, grant humility. And for all of us, grant the grace to remember that our lives are bound together, and that our calling to love one another remains.
We pray for those who have offered themselves for public service, for those entrusted with counting votes, and for those who will bear the responsibility of leadership. Give them prudence, integrity, humility, and a commitment to the common good.
Guard us from contempt and indifference. Keep us from allowing our differences to diminish the dignity of another. Where there is harm, give us courage to speak. Where there is injustice, give us strength to act. Where there is division, help us seek peace without surrendering truth.
And as night falls, keep watch over those who cannot rest, those who fear for their families, those whose livelihoods and futures are uncertain, and those whose voices too often go unheard. You know the fears we carry, both those born of uncertainty and those grounded in the realities of our world. Grant us wisdom to discern what is before us, courage to face what must be faced, and love that moves us to care for one another, our communities, and all creation.
Form in us the mind of Christ. Teach us to love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously. Remind us that our first allegiance is to you and that our neighbors remain entrusted to our care.
When morning comes, awaken us again to the work of love.
In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and our hope.
Amen.
Bishop Lanette Plambeck
Dakotas-Minnesota Episcopal Area of The United Methodist Church
“He has told you, O mortal, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?” ~ Micah 6:8 (NRSVUE)
Beloved in Christ,
The polls have closed, and tonight I am thinking of you.
As we come to the close of election day here in the United States, I am thinking of those of you sitting close to the television, and those who have turned it off. I am thinking of the poll workers driving home tired after a long day of serving their neighbors, of the families whose dinner tables hold more than one opinion, and of those who feel afraid tonight, whatever the reason. I know that for some, the stakes of this election are deeply personal, touching questions of safety, belonging, livelihood, and the future of those they love. Whoever you are, and wherever you are, please know that you are held in prayer, and you are held by God.
We do not yet know how this night will end. Some results may come quickly, and others may take days. Nor do we know how those entrusted with authority will receive the outcomes and respond in the weeks ahead. I will not pretend to have a certainty this night does not hold. But there are things I do know, and I want to name them to you with a clarity of conviction.
Jesus is Lord. The One we follow was not on any ballot, and his reign does not rise or fall with an election. Our hope has never rested in the outcome of an election, but neither does our hope excuse us from the work of justice, mercy, and peace. Through October, we walked beneath the Chi Rho, the ancient sign of Christ's name, asking what it means to put Christ at the center of how we belong, how we hold power, how we listen, and how we live. That question does not close with the polls. It will meet us again tomorrow morning.
You still belong to one another. In 1774, John Wesley counseled the Methodists who could vote "to speak no evil of the person they voted against" and "to take care their spirits were not sharpened against those that voted on the other side." That counsel is ours tonight. The neighbor whose yard sign you drove past for months is still your neighbor. The person in the next pew is still your sibling in Christ. Our belonging to one another does not require us to surrender our principles, excuse harm, or pretend that every choice carries the same consequences. It does require us to recognize the image of God in one another, even when we disagree. Let us be gentle with our words, and guard our hearts and actions with the Three Simple Rules: Do no harm. Do good. Stay in love with God.
To love our neighbor is to love God. And loving God means we are still called to be good citizens, together. When God's people were in exile, far from home and unsure of the future, God told them to build houses, plant gardens, and seek the welfare of the city where they lived (Jeremiah 29:7). Paul urged the Philippians to live as citizens worthy of the gospel, standing firm in one spirit, striving side by side (Philippians 1:27). So, we pray for all who govern, those for whom we voted and those for whom we did not. We support what serves the common good, question what threatens human dignity, and resist what harms our neighbors. Our first allegiance is to God, and that allegiance calls us neither to withdraw from public life nor to surrender our conscience to political power. None of us does this alone. Plant seeds of hope and justice. Cultivate the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These are the marks of a people being formed by Christ.
In the days ahead, let us be patient while every vote is counted, and let us pray for a public life that is peaceful, lawful, and truthful. If the coming days bring harm to those who are vulnerable, the church will speak, clearly and with love, because that is what love of neighbor asks of us. The election may determine who holds office. It does not determine whom we are called to love; nor does it determine the responsibilities named at our baptism.
To my colleagues in pastoral ministry: you do not need every answer this Sunday. Set the Table. Make room for lament and for gratitude. Trust in the songs of our faith and lean into our liturgy. Perhaps passing the peace of Christ, baptismal remembrance, or celebrating Holy Communion is fitting for this season. Help our people remember who they are and whose they are, and that the work of loving God and neighbor continues.
And tonight, before you sleep, pray. Pray for our communities and our nation. Pray for those who will lead. Pray for the neighbor you find hardest to love. And then rest. The psalmist says, "I will both lie down and sleep in peace" (Psalm 4:8). God keeps watch through the night, and in the morning, we will rise to love God and our neighbor again.
With you in the waiting, and in the hope,
Bishop Lanette Plambeck
Dakotas-Minnesota Episcopal Area of The United Methodist Church
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.
Thanks be to God
for …
+ Kraig and Korla
S.’ 59th 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.
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
*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
Postlude Music
“The worship is ended; let the service begin.”
*Please rise in body or in spirit.
Written by lutherjulia, and posted on RevGalBlogPals.
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
- Mary Bosanquet Fletcher
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| Bob was today's reader |
Prelude Music
Welcome & Announcements
*Call to Worship – (from the Rev-o-lution website)
We are called to love the Lord our God. We are called to love with all our heart and soul. We are called to love the Lord our God. We are called to love with all our mind and strength. We are called to love the Lord our God. And we are called to love our neighbor as ourselves. Come, let us love our God, and share God’s love in this time of worship!
*Hymn: “Spirit of the Living Christ,” #393 (sung twice)
Once upon a time, a wise man offered a challenge; "What is the greatest commandment?" The calendars on our desks share upcoming events, bills to pay, phone calls to return, appointments to keep. Love the Lord your God. The cameras of our memories share what command us: children to bathe, partners to help, parents calling, and grandchildren hopeful. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. Still the Spirit lures us to new priorities: Open spaces to experience wonder, strangers becoming friends, devotion to that which transcends. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. Love your neighbor as yourself.
*Gloria Patri, #70
*Passing the Peace of Christ
Joys and Concerns
Pastoral Prayer & The Lord’s Prayer
*Offering Prayer
First Lesson: Acts 10:44-48
The
Word of God for the People of God. Thanks be to God.
Hymn: “Lord, I Want to Be a Christian," #402
Gospel Lesson: Matthew 22:34-41
The Word of God for
the People of God. Thanks be to God.
Sermon: “The Big One”
*Hymn: “More Love to Thee, O Christ,” #453
*Benediction
Join the annual celebration that is Charge Conference! We will once again be part of a gathering involving other United Methodist congregations from our area.
This year, we are meeting at Open Doors UMC in Wells on November 7 at 1:00 p.m.
