This past Sunday was a beautiful day in the life of our church, and we want to begin by saying thank you. Your presence, prayers, and pledges made Consecration Sunday a true celebration of faith and commitment. As we gathered to dedicate our pledge cards and lift them up in prayer, we were reminded that every act of giving is both a response to God’s grace and a participation in God’s mission of love among us. We give thanks for the many ways that the Ashland Place family is joining in on what God is already doing in our church, community, and world. May we continue to join in by offering our hands, our hearts, and our lives for the advancement of God’s kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven!

This coming Sunday, we will tune our hearts to sing God’s praise as we celebrate another sacred day in the life of the Church: All Saints Sunday. We will gather to remember and celebrate the saints who have gone before us in faith. This includes members of our congregation as well as the great communion of saints of every time and place whose lives continue to bear witness to God’s love and grace. Sunday’s service will include a time of remembrance in which the names of those who have entered the Church Triumphant during the past year will be read aloud as a Response to the Word. As each name is spoken, a candle will be lit and a bell rung in their honor as we give thanks for the eternal light of Christ that shines through their lives and continues to guide us today.

All Saints Sunday invites us to give thanks for the “great cloud of witnesses” who surround us and to renew our own commitment to live as faithful disciples in our time and place. With each candle lit and with each ring of the bell, may the final verse of our beloved hymn, “The Church’s One Foundation,” be the prayer of our hearts: “Yet she on earth hath union with God the Three in One, and mystic sweet communion with those whose rest is won. O happy ones and holy! Lord, give us grace that we like them, the meek and lowly, on high may dwell with thee” (UMH 545).

We look forward to celebrating, remembering, and worshipping with you on Sunday! May the gifts we give, the lives we honor, and the ministries we share all point to our One Foundation.

 We bless your holy name, O God,
   for all your servants who, having finished their course,
   now rest from their labors.
Give us grace to follow the example
   of their steadfastness and faithfulness,
   to your honor and glory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.