November 2, 2025
ALL SAINTS’ SUNDAY
A Service of Prayer, of Song, of CElebration, and of Coming Together in the Name of the Risen Christ
Lead Minister: The Rev. Jope Langejans
Music Director: Cody Obst
Minister Emeritus: Rev. Gerry Scharff
Honorary Associate Ministers: Rev. Clint Mooney & Rev. Kelley Warner
Chair of Council: Vacant
Reader: Nancy Gillean
“In the Holy Land are two ancient bodies of water. Both are fed by the Jordan River. In one, fish play and roots find sustenance. In the other, there is no splash of fish, no sound of bird; no leaf around. The difference is not in the Jordan, for it empties into both, but in the Sea of Galilee: for every drop taken in one goes out. This is stewardship. It gives and lives. The other gives nothing. And it is called the Dead Sea.” (Stewardship Quotes)
Gathering
(*Indicates that you may stand if you are able…)
PRELUDE
WELCOMING (Leader)
Welcome to All Saints Sunday…even though we designate this Sunday for this purpose, we realize that saints are not only those who may have passed on but saints live and dwell amongst us every day, every Sunday and maybe your sitting beside one right now…and it is with this thought in mind where we come together in the Spirit and welcome each other as followers of The Way and followers of Peace…
ANNOUNCEMENTS
INTROIT “Da Pacem Cordium” (Give peace to ev’ry heart”) MV # 86
(We’ll sing this through 3 X’s)
“Give peace to every heart. Give peace to every heart.
Give peace, God. Give peace, God.”
WELCOMING INTO THE LIGHT
(Lighting of the Candle of Christ)
Leader: In the deep of the night, when our eyes cannot see – Christ’s light is a beam, to guide on the Way.
ALL: In the moments of gloom, when life’s fog can conceal – Christ’s light brightens and warms where we are.
Leader: In the bright of our days, when the world’s glitter catches our desire – Christ’s light is the true gold, gathered and shared.
(Lighting the candle…)
Let this light remind us of Christ’s light, with us always. Alleluia!
ALL: Alleluia, Amen!
ACKNOWLEDGING THE TERRITORY (Unison)
We acknowledge the traditional territories and the value of the traditional and current oral practices of the Blackfoot Confederacy, the Tsuut’ina and Stoney Nakoda Nations, the Metis Nation (Region 3), and all people who make their homes in the Treaty 7 region of Southern Alberta.
OPENING CALL TO WORSHIP (Responsive)
Leader: Welcome, once again, to everyone this morning…God is with us…truly with us. We enter this place with thanksgiving for it holds a community of faith which lives and loves together.
ALL: We come from different places in our spiritual journeys and each of us comes seeking the path on which we need to voyage into.
Leader: We come to be enriched by the Spirit and to be held closely by the embraces of holiness.
ALL: We come to sing a new song, a song about rebirth. We gather as one voice, travelling on the same road on this journey together.
Leader: As we worship this Sunday, may each of us know that we are people of salt and people of light.
O God’s salty people: come to this place and be who you are!
ALL: We are people of salt and people of light! With the work of our hands and the work of our hearts, we are people of salt and light.
Leader: To refresh, to renew, to sing and to pray; to be children of God, Christ’s disciples all the way, we are people of salt and light!
ALL: Then, seasoned anew, bright, shining – alive – we’ll go to the world, to help it thrive! We are people of salt and light – people of salt and light!
OPENING PRAYER: (Responsive)
Leader: Eternal God, in whom we live and move and have our being, hear this, our prayer to you. For the church universal and for this gathering of your people, for this place, in which we gather for praise and prayer, witness and service, in the name of Jesus Christ we give thanks.
ALL: We give you thanks, O God, for your presence among us whenever your word has been proclaimed, your sacramental gifts of bread and cup shared. We give thanks for baptisms, for marriages, and for celebrating the lives of loved ones in hope and in faith.
Leader: We give thanks to disciples young and old and in-between who have been nurtured in faith, for leaders, guides, mentors, volunteers and ministers who have led and loved us, and for the offering of their gifts which equipped each of us for our own ministries.
ALL: We give thanks to those who were and are salt and light to us. For the faithful stewards who have lived for others, serving not only neighbour but the world. We give thanks to the ones who have stood among us, whose memories still enliven our faith and reassure our witness.
Leader: So, speak to us, O God, of a church seeking to be in relationship with others who call upon you in faith. Speak to us of faithful people bound in covenant across cultures, continents, and confessions. Speak to us of a church where all are welcome to share the cost and joy of discipleship.
ALL: O God, we are listening so receive our gratitude for the years through which you have led us and open to us the future of your promise. So be our salt…be our light…O great God of all. In Jesus’ name, we ask it…Amen.
ASSURANCE of PARDON: (Leader)
This is good news: Even when we falter, God’s love can rebuild the bonds of community. All we need to do is reach out for one another, knowing that we are not alone; we live in God’s world. Thanks be to God.
*HYMN VU # 641 “Lord Jesus, You Shall Be My Song”
Engaging the Sacred Text
(Reader: Nancy Gillean)
First Scripture
HABAKKUK 1:1-4, 2:1-4 How long will it be until God acts?..
EPISTLE READING
2 THESSALONIANS 1:1-4, 11-12 Your faith and love are growing abundantly
HYMN of ILLUMINATION: MV # 12 “Come Touch Our Hearts”
GOSPEL PASSAGE
LUKE 19:1-10 Jesus dines with Zacchaeus…
SERMON / MESSAGE / HOMILY “Blessing Our Saints of Peace”
Responding
OFFERING INVITATION (Leader)
Generosity can never be measured. When we give from our hearts and seek to meet needs, there is no such thing as being more or less generous. Because God has been generous to us, let us now offer our gifts. Our offering will now be received…
CHOIR OFFERTORY MUSICAL SELECTION
“ Come Unto Me” by: Larry Nickel
WORDS FOR OUR OFFERING
Leader: Remembering the faithfulness of those who have gone before us, grateful that you call us to share in the joy of spreading your love, knowing that what we offer makes a difference in the healing of the world, we bring our gifts, O God.
PRAYER of DEDICATION (Leader)
Blessing
PRAYERS OF THIS COMMUNITY OF FAITH (Unison)
We have received the Good News, and we are challenged to live faithfully. We have sung hymns of praise, and we go out into the community with joy in our hearts. We have prayed fervently and experienced the touch of the Divine.
So – we go back to our everyday activities strengthened, enriched, and encouraged. And now we go out into the world that sorely needs to experience radical love. May the wonder and awe of God encircle us in the coming days. May the courage of Jesus Christ guide us in all that we do. May the tenderness of the Holy Spirit lead us, this day and always…let us now share in the words of the Lord’s Prayer…
LORD’S PRAYER
COMMISSIONING (unison):
May the God of Justice guide us in the path of peace. May the Christ of Liberation reveal to us the way of new life. May the Holy Spirit awaken in us the desire to work for harmony. As we leave this hallowed space, may we all be reminded that we are God’s beloved children…Amen.
*HYMN MV # 169 “When Hands Reach Out Beyond Divides”
BENEDICTION
POSTLUDE MUSIC
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SCRIPTURE PASSAGES for SUNDAY, November 9
Remembrance Sunday
MICAH 6:6-8
ECCLESIASTES 3:1-8
LUKE 6:12-31