As we move into November we move into the season of thanksgiving.  We begin next Sunday as we give thanks for the saints who have gone on before – the men and women of First UMC whose lives served as living letters from Christ to the world and to each of us.  We will read in worship the names of those who have graduated to glory since last November, as we remember the ways their spirits touched ours and made of us who we now are.  You are invited to bring a flower to honor others who have touched and shaped your life.  In this way we acknowledge the work of God in us through the hearts and lives of our sisters and brothers in Christ.

The scripture we will use for the ministry of the Word will be Ephesians 1:15-23.  I invite you to read it below, and reflect upon it before we gather for worship.  It is full of promise and hope, and points us resolutely toward the source of ALL hope, our Lord Jesus who is the Christ.  Meditate on it.  Let it penetrate your heart and spirit.  Then come to worship on Sunday, and let’s remember together  who and whose we are:  we are God’s children, and we belong to Him.  There is nothing more important; nothing more meaningful; nothing more fulfilling; nothing more worthwhile than that.

I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.  Ephesians 1:15-23

I’ll see you at the place of hope and possibility and power this Sunday.  Don’t miss it.