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November 1 2026 * Twenty-Third Sunday After Pentecost
All Saints Sunday * Communion Sunday
On All Saints Sunday, we will honor and remember our friends and loved ones who died in the last year. If you would like to submit the name of someone whom you’d like to to be named in the worship service please email churchoffice@uccpasadena.org
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Scripture Readings
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition
Hebrews 12:1-2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.
Matthew 5:1-10
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he began to speak and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Reflection
"Holy Imagination”
"On All Saints' Day, it is not just the saints of the church that we should remember in our prayers, but all the foolish ones and wise ones, the shy ones and overbearing ones, the broken ones and whole ones, the despots and tosspots and crackpots of our lives who, one way or another, have been our particular fathers and mothers and saints, and whom we loved without knowing we loved them and by whom we were helped to whatever little we may have, or ever hope to have, of some kind of seedy sainthood of our own."
Frederick Buechner, The Sacred Journey
We have rounded the bend into autumn- Halloween is here, voting is here, All Saints Day has arrived. We are also beginning to think about Stewardship and Thanksgiving and Advent and Christmas... a busy time to be part of a Christian community.
Your Search Committee continues to do their work with intelligence and discernment and love.
This week we will think together about what it means to be Saints, we will name those of our number who left our shores this year, and give thanks for their lives and their witness. Then we will join the faithful (seen and unseen) around the communion table to re-experience our connection to Jesus and to one another.
Do you consider yourself an imaginative person? In reflection on our scripture texts this week, we will think about holy imagination - and how to cultivate it. It is, I believe, a way to join in the steadying and revitalizing work of the Spirit.
So: put some dates on the calendar for Advent (there will be music and candle-lighting, laughter and pageants!). Do some thinking about making a financial pledge for 2027. Vote, for God's sake! And let's gather on Sunday to remember our saints.
Love to you, Sandy
Rev. Dr. Sandy Tice
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