God’s Beloved,
Blessings for the month of November – a time when the days start to grow shorter and darker – a time for creation to start preparing for the long winter ahead. And a time for us in the church to conclude our church year, before beginning the next, with the start of Advent on December 1.
The last month of this church year begins on November 3, with All Saints Sunday. This is a special and sacred service where we remember and acknowledge the Saints who have gone before us, as well as the Saints we welcomed this past year in baptism.
photo credit: Tim Ohrmundt
This is a beautiful service to come together as a community, to hold vigil for one another in our sorrow, and to embrace one another in our joy. This service embodies the circle of life, acknowledging all our ups and downs, and how all of our circles are held in Christ Jesus. As it is because of Christ, that our circle never ends.
This good news found in Christ brings us hope. Hope that our weary world desperately needs, especially as the days grow shorter, and we are surrounded by darkness. Christ reminds us that God’s darkness is holy, as it is in darkness that life began – from the creation story where God created light in the darkness, to the darkness of a mother’s womb, to the darkness beneath the earth where seeds and fall bulbs are planted and germinate.
The circle of life is extended to the rhythm of each day ~
because how we spend our days, is how we live our lives.
As Christians we live trusting that God is with us when the predawn glow starts to shimmer on the horizon, through the full light of midday, into the fading light of twilight, and as we descend into holy darkness.
As we close out this church year, and prepare for the next, let us gather together in Christ. Let us look forward in hope, and let us live knowing God is with us.