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Welcome: Welcome! We are happy that you are here to celebrate with us! Today is All Saints Day, a day that we think about and remember those people who have used the gifts given to them by the Holy One to make the world a better place.
Opening Prayer:
Holy One, we come together today to remember the blessed ones that we call saints. We invite them to join our celebration today so that together we may give thanks to you, who call each of us to be saints within your Kin-dom.
Opening Song: All Saints Day by Carrie Newcommer
https://youtu.be/GQefafxbS9E?si=m6q7_1_aT6sjKxDW
LITURGY OF THE WORD
First Reading: From The Love of Thousands by Christine Valters Paintner (adapted by Mary Theresa and Denise)
St. Paul writes that we are all “called to be holy” (1 Cor 1:2). We all know people in our lives who are loving, kind, generous and patient. They are the visible presence of the Holy One in our world. These are the everyday saints we honor. They may be our neighbors, our coworkers, our aunts, or our brothers or sisters, and their lives show us another way of being in the world. They may have passed on or may still be walking this earth. So we honor the saints, we remember saints such as Francis, Hildegard, Augustine and Teresa. But we also want to include those in our lives who have shown us what it means to love generously in a world that is often hard to love. These may also be people we have not met, but they inspire us through their poetry or music, through their commitment to social justice and the poor, or their love of creation. The saints have both love and humility. Saints are able to set aside their own plans and what they think is the best path forward and listen in their heart to the Holy One. They take risks and follow the Divine’s lead into new ways of serving others.
These are the thoughts of writer and mystic Christine Valters Paintner, and we affirm them with Amen.
Gospel Acclamation: Celtic Alleluia by Christopher Walker
GOSPEL: A Reading from the Gospel According to Matthew (5:1-12) and The Beatitudes for the 21st Century by Jan Phillips
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on the mountainside, and after he sat down and the disciples had gathered around, Jesus began to teach them:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed be the story-tellers, music-makers, and artists at life, for they are the true light of the world.
Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed be the tender-hearted who mourn and grieve the wars we've fought, the lives we've lost, may peace ride in on the river of their tears.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.
Blessed be the Earth and those who tend her, for she is the source and sustenance of our lives.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
Blessed be the children who hunger for food, learning, and homes that are safe, for their future is shaped by our choices today.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed be the persecuted and wrongly judged, for theirs is a sorrow lessened only by mercy and human kindness.
Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.
Blessed be the prophets who speak and write of a world beyond war, for theirs are the words becoming flesh.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed be those who are calling for freedom, resisting oppression and risking their lives in the struggle for justice, for they are the shapers of a brighter world.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed be the refugees fleeing the violence of war and poverty may they find shelter, peace, and work that sustains them.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great right now in the Kin-dom.”
Homily Starter: (Mary Theresa)
Today I want to tell you about a saint named Jane Goodall. Jane died last month. She loved animals so much that when she was your age, she used to hide in her family’s chicken coop to see how eggs were laid! She was curious and patient—and she loved learning from the creatures around her.
When she grew up, Jane traveled to Africa to study chimpanzees. She watched them carefully, day after day, and she discovered that they could make tools, show kindness, and even hug each other when they were sad. Jane realized something amazing—the animals weren’t that different from us. They were part of God’s big, beautiful family too.
Jane didn’t go into the forest to boss the animals around. She went to listen and learn. That’s what made her holy. She treated every living thing—trees, rivers, animals, and people—with respect.
Jane teaches us that we can be saints too—by caring for our pets, recycling, planting trees, or speaking up when we see someone hurting the Earth. Every act of kindness makes the world more like the one God dreamed of.
So today, remember:
You don’t have to be famous to make a difference. You just have to care deeply and act with love. As Jane said, “What you do makes a difference—you just have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”
Statement of Faith
We believe in the Holy One who is in everything we see
And even in everything we cannot see.
As far away as the most distant star and as near as the air we breathe
The Holy One is there, creating everything out of Love.
We believe in Jesus, who showed us the Holy One
In how he lived his life,
He showed us that the Holy One is
In our lives too.
We believe that we are called to live like Jesus.
We are called to bring peace, and light, healing and kindness,
We are called to be brave and speak up, and help out when
Others are suffering or things are not right.
We believe that the Spirit of the Holy One
Lives in us and in all of creation.
We feel the Spirit in the wind, the warm sun,
The cold snow, and we see it in the faces of other people.
We believe that if we live in the Spirit of the Holy One,
If we remember to act with kindness and courage,
We will make the family of the Holy One larger and larger
Until the whole world is at peace.
Prayers of the Community
MT: There are many things we are thankful for, and there are many things that make us feel sad or scared. Now is the time to bring these things to this table, so that all of us can pray with one another. We begin our prayers with the words: “I bring to the table.”
MT: We pray for all these things, and for all the prayers that we hold silently in our hearts. Amen.
LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST
MT: Next we will pray our great prayer of Thanksgiving, called our Eucharistic Prayer:
All: O Holy One, you have made us in goodness, given us life and held us in love. Your Spirit lives within each of us; each of us has been given your Spirit of courage and vision, your Spirit of wisdom and truth.
In the power of that same Spirit, we ask that once again your gifts come upon us as we sing your praise:
Holy, Holy, Holy: by Karen Drucker
(The presiders go to the table)
MT: (Invite the children, and anyone who would like to, to join in a circle at the table).
All: Holy One, we see around us all of your creation. The trees, flowers, birds, animals and insects sing with joy for your creative power. We are your creation too, and we thank you for our lives.
We thank you for sending Jesus, our brother, to show us how to live so that your love can show through in the world. We thank you for your Spirit, which showers your love and wisdom on the earth like rain, and which opens our eyes in wonder.
Denise: Please hold your hands out like this… (demonstrate) as we bless the bread and juice.
Holy One, you blessed the grain in this bread and the fruit in this juice as they grew on the earth. The people who baked the bread and made the juice blessed them with their work. Today, with your Spirit, we bless them again, as they become gifts of love, light and truth and remind us that we too are blessed with your Spirit.
MT lifts bread:
Jesus gathered his friends around a table like this. He took the bread, and said a prayer of thanksgiving. Then he broke the bread and shared it with his friends, saying, “Take and eat this bread. It is my very self.”
Denise lifts the cup:
After the meal, Jesus took the cup of blessing. He said another prayer of thanks, and then he offered his friends the cup saying
Take and drink of the promise
Made new again through my life in you.
Whenever you remember me like this,
I am among you.
MT:
We are one today with all people who have ever lived, all the people and animals we have loved. With them we ask you, Holy One, for the wisdom to know what is right and the courage to do what is right.
- Help us to be kind to one another.
- Help us to take care of the earth.
- Help us to reach out to people who need our help.
And as we grow, help us to see where your Spirit leads us as our lives unfold in this world of pain and beauty so that we may become wise co-creators of the future.
Like Jesus, we will open up wide all that has been closed about us, and we will live loving lives, for it is through living as Jesus lived, that we awaken to your Light within.
Amen.
Denise:
We will pass the plate around the circle. When the plate comes to you please take a piece of bread and eat it. As you receive Communion remember the words, “I can move mountains.”
Communion Meditation: The Gathering of Spirits
https://youtu.be/I7BGiSObPrc?si=leNjcBB8m_7kYUno
Post-Communion Prayer
O Holy One, You call us to live in peace and justice. We will live justly. You call us to be your presence in the world. We will love tenderly. You call us to speak truth even when it is difficult. We will be courageous in your presence.
Let us pray the prayer of Jesus:
O Holy One, who is within, around and among us,
We celebrate your many names.
Your Wisdom come.
Your will be done, unfolding from the depths within us,
Each day you give us all we need;
You remind us of our limits, and we let go.
You support us in our power, and we act with courage.
For you are the dwelling place within us,
the empowerment around us,
and the celebration among us, now and forever. Amen
(Miriam Therese Winter)
BLESSING
Holy One, each one of us, each adult and each child gathered today, has a gift to share. The gift we have comes from you, and you ask us to use our gift for the good of the whole world. Sometimes we may not even know we have this gift. We may feel small, we may feel like we have nothing to offer. Help us to recognize the special gift you have given us. And help us to use that gift so that your Kin-dom will grow stronger and stronger in this world. Help us to be your saints. Amen.
Closing Song: Right Field, Paul Stookey
