All Saints Sunday

“Grieving with Hope”

November 1, 2026

 

Our worship today includes the “Commemoration of the Faithful Departed.”  We remember those in our St. John’s family who, in the past year, have been gathered to the Lord.  We give thanks for their faith, as we pray for all who by grace are counted among the saints today.

                                                                                                 

Behind every name we read today is a face, a story, a family, and someone we miss. Christians are not spared the pain of grief, nor do we need to pretend that death does not hurt. Yet we do not grieve without hope. The resurrection of Jesus Christ assures us that death will not have the last word. Those who die in Christ belong to Him still, and we await the day when He will return, raise the dead, and gather all His people to Himself forever. We grieve, but we grieve with hope.