November 1, 2026
ALL SAINTS’ DAY
A Service of Prayer, of Song, of Listening, of Honouring
Our Saints, and of Filling the Food Bank Boxes
The quote for today goes something like this:
“When you’re working on the big picture, don’t worry about spilling some paint…and...The purpose of life is to live a life of purpose.”
Lead Minister: The Rev. Jope Langejans
Music Director: Cody Obst
Minister Emeritus: Rev. Gerry Scharff
Honorary Associate Ministers: Rev. Clint Mooney & Rev. Kelley Warner
Licensed Lay Worship Leaders: Fiona Hayes
Chair of Council: Vacant
Scripture Reader: Murray Rose
Gathering
(*Indicates that you may stand if you are able…)
Prelude
Welcoming & Announcements
Beginning: (Rev. Jope) We open with words from Matthew 5:13a and 14a (First Nations Version): “As you walk the good road with me, you are the salt of the earth, bringing cleansing and healing to all….as you walk the road with me, you are a light shining in this dark world.”
Choral Introit Matthew 5 (Blest Are They – VU # 896)
The choir will sing the five verses, and the congregation will join in with the chorus:
(Chorus) Rejoice and be glad!.... Blessed are you, holy are you!
Rejoice and be glad!.... Yours is the kingdom of God.
Land Acknowledgement (Rev. Jope)
As we gather today as the faith community of Lakeview United Church, we begin our worship by acknowledging and honouring the land upon which we gather today as the historic and traditional territory of Indigenous peoples. May we all be mindful that our Creator God has made all of us equal and alive…together.
Opening Hymn “My Life Flows On” VU # 716
Lighting of the Christ Candle
Rev. Jope: We come together on this Sunday morning to light the Candle of Christ, the Candle of Jesus’ presence with us. We light this to remember that we are spiritual beings and that we are connected by our spirit to our Creator God. Let us all be grateful for our existence with its joys, sorrows, teachings and all the experiences which we have come across in our lives…
Call to Worship
Rev. Jope: It is in this place and in this time together where God meets us once again – our God who is ever present, ever loving, and ever visible.
ALL: We are invited to feel the welcome we seek; a welcome only our God offers to us. What we seek we receive today. What we do, we do in love for all.
Rev. Jope: When we don’t know where we are going, God will direct us in the ways which are needed so that our destination may be realized.
ALL: When we don’t know the words to say, God will whisper in our ears and help us to verbalize what needs to be said.
Rev. Jope: When we don’t know what’s going to happen next, God will send us words and memories from our saints, our sisters and brothers, to strengthen us on our way.
ALL: Through their stories, their lives, their loves, your Holy Spirit teaches us to dance and cry out “Alleluia!”
Rev. Jope: May we now enter ourselves into worship with our thankful spirits and open our hearts to song…
*Hymn “Come, Children, Join to Sing” VU # 345
Opening Prayer (Unison):
O Gracious One, most people we call “saints” would think of themselves as pretty ordinary people who saw a need and tried to fill it. So, forgive us, O God, when we think of a saint as someone who is always extraordinary, someone whose time and talents are way beyond our own. Most people whom we call “saints” are people who have passed on and are no longer among us. So, forgive us, O God, when we forget to thank the ‘ordinary’ saints around us, people who have left a positive mark on our lives; those who we’ve known for a long time and those strangers whose random acts of kindness on the streets or at community functions have put a smile on our hearts and restored our faith in humankind. Let us take a moment to think of the “ordinariness” of our lives and what we might do to reflect a little saintliness in our world…(silence)…
Rev. Jope: We all stumble and fall, only to have you pick us back up, O God. We go forth in our lives, secure in the knowledge that your love for us will never let us go. Relying on your grace O God, help us to see your presence in all the ‘ordinariness’ of our day-to-day lives.
ALL:…Amen.
Engaging
Reader: Murray Rose
Older Testament Reading
REVELATION 7:9-17 They will hunger no more and thirst no more…
PSALM 34:1-10, 22 Taste and see that God is good….
*Hymn of Illumination “Know That God Is Good” MV # 104
Gospel Reading
MATTHEW 5:1-12 The Beatitudes (Taken from First Nations Version)…
MESSAGE: “Faith Is a Gift….How Do We Spend It?”
Responding
Presentation of Our Offerings (Rev. Jope)
We have received much from God and God’s Creation. Let us give thanks and share so that this abundance may equip all disciples for their work.
Choir Anthem: “How Sweet the Sound” by: John Helgen, With Kevin Williams, bass guitar
Prayer of Dedication (Rev. Jope)
Sunday’s Reflective Prayer (Unison)
O Loving God, we all know and realize that the world is in need of saints, especially when many of those who offer leadership behave quite often in unsaintly ways. So today, those who came before us and gave us so much are being remembered. We too seek to be your saints in your world, yet we are travelling a path that is never easy. There are mountains to climb in serving the world, and we are taking it one moment at a time and one action at a time. Remind us that we are not perfect and that we struggle at times…we even wander off the path that you have put us on. So, we come together here today to remind ourselves that we are all your saints, to encourage one another and assist one another. We reach out, we pray, we give, and we strive to be your servants, your disciples, your saints. Teach us…guide us…and bless us O God…And with Jesus, we pray together saying:
“Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil: for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen
*Closing Hymn “Go, make a Diff’rence” MV # 209
Blessing
*COMMISSIONING (unison):
*Commissioning (Unison)
We have been equipped for sainthood. We are ready to respond. We have been called to minister to a broken world. We are ready to respond. We have been called to fellowship. We are ready to respond. We go now, in the Spirit of Christ…Amen.
Benediction
Rev. Jope: The grace of Christ attends us, the Holy Spirit keeps us, and the love of God surrounds us, now and forever…Amen
Postlude