All Saints is one of the scheduled baptism days of the Church year. And we had quite a party with 53 present for the baptism of Alexander Long VI. The day was typical November with highs in the 50’s over a mixture of clouds and sun. The hymns were glorious as provided by Brad and Choir- "For All the Saints", "Ye Holy Angels Bright" and "Who are these like stars appearing."
The whole Long family was present except for Laura in California. There were three generations present including Elizabeth’s mother. The baptismal silver in the family from Alexander Long III was used in the ceremony.
We had representatives from Salem Baptist in King George arranged by Hugh to speak on their paper drive project. They will pick up at St. Peters at future times. The proceeds will be used to support the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, cancer research at St. Judes Hospital and also school supplies for students at King George High School arranged through the guidance department
This Sunday was Pledge Sunday. They were collected in a cardboard box shaped like a church provided by Eunice.
This was also one of two Sundays designated for Operation Christmas Child of Samaritans purse. We have received approximately 11 boxes.
We also remembered the birthdays of Kimberly and Andrea as well as the 59th wedding anniversary of Clarence and Betty.
Betty also inaugurated UTO offering through the distribution of blue UTO boxes which will be collected Dec. 4.
We remembered the saints that had died in the last year as listed in bulletin.
Coffee hour was provided by Cookie, Betty, Eunice and the Long family. It was feast of boneless chicken, roastbeef, ham, assorted grapes, cheese and crackers with a baptimal cake for Alexander Long.
Alexander Long VI at Coffee Hour.
You may remember the song from the Lion King, "the Circle of Life" written by Elton John
"From the day we arrive on the planet
And blinking, step into the sun
There’s more to see than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done
There’s far too much to take in here
More to find than can ever be found
But the sun rolling high
Through the sapphire sky
Keeps great and small on the endless round
It’s the Circle of Life
And it moves us all
Through despair and hope
Through faith and love
Till we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the Circle
The Circle of Life"
The sermon looked at it through the English poet Wordsworth and then related it to Baptism which we celebrated – "Baptism is the outward reminder that our journeys begin and end in God. In every moment of our journeys, God journeys with us and longs to make us new people."
And then it applies to those who are no longer with us – "The lives of those we have lost have been changed, not ended" with a destination for God’s heavenly city, the new Jerusalem…
The faithful who have gone before us continue to be our companions in hope. "
In the Hebrew Bible, life simply ended with death (or at best, the dead merely existed in an indeterminate state, separated from God), but during the first century BC, some Jewish thinkers developed the notion of after-life.
The thinking is that, at the Last Judgement, the just (or righteous) will join God . In the process we go through hardships and trials but as the sermon emphasizes we go with faith, trust and the grace of God to become the true people of God.
In the Lion King , Simba the new cub goes through trials and tribulation after being tricked that he was the killer of this father. He finally stops running from his past after being confronted by an image of his father in a pond. He had received an image of God to lead him on his journey toward the truth.
As the sermon says. "And as God walks with us from the beginning to the end of our earthly journeys, we know that on this journey, God longs to make us new as well–filling us full of trust and faith through God’s grace and mercy. God longs to make us a new people. "
The readings are here for the service.