Dear Centenary Family,

 

This Sunday, November 4, we celebrate All Saints Sunday.  We pause to remember all those who've gone before us in the faith, particularly members of our church family who have died in the past year.  When we come to this Sunday each year, my mind goes in several directions.  I think of people close to me that are no longer here.  I think of what they meant to me, and how, in and through their human gifts and imperfections, I experienced God's grace.  I think of the great cloud of witnesses Scripture says surround us--Abraham and Moses and Ruth and Esther and Mary and Peter and Paul.  I think of great people in the history of the church I admire and who have shaped our tradition--Augustine and Aquinas and Luther and Wesley and Barth, as well as King, and Romero, and Teresa of Avila and Julian of Norwich.   

 

This week, my mind has turned to reflecting on people from within our own congregation, with its long and rich history, who have shaped us, and still shape us.  I consider what we mean when we say in the creed that we believe "in the communion of the saints."  All these saints, those from our own families, those from this congregation, those from the great tradition of the Church, may sometimes seem far removed from us by time and space.  But the truth is, our faith teaches us that they are more near and present to us than we can imagine.  I'm working on a homily based on the Old Testament reading, Isaiah 25:6-9 entitled, "They Have Not Gone Far."

 

I hope you will join us Sunday as we remember, worship, and consider who God is calling us to be and become.  And let's continue to work and pray for justice and peace in our world.  Let's allow our hearts to be touched by the pain of others, and then consider how God calls us to be in solidarity with all those who suffer from hatred and prejudice.

 

God is using us to make a difference, I am sure.   

 

Peace,

 

 

Matt