Worship Leader: JoAnne Fletcher Music Director: Tim Hallman, B.Mus., B.Ed.
Guest Speaker: Sherri Fourier-Hudson Physician Recruitment
November 1, 2026
All Saints Sunday
Welcome / Announcements / Celebrations
Land Acknowledgement:
As we gather this All Saints Sunday to remember the great cloud of witnesses who have gone before us—known and unknown, ancient and recent—we also remember the generations of Indigenous peoples who have cared for and lived upon this land since time immemorial. We give thanks to the Creator for this land, its waters, and all living beings, and we commit ourselves to walking in respect, truth, and reconciliation with our Indigenous neighbours
Lighting of Christ Candle:
Today is “All Saints Sunday. In the Catholic faith, Saints are typically considered the holiest of people, who have been confirmed institutionally after their deaths. People who identify as Catholic often pray to these saints and ask them to provide divine interventions with God on their behalf. In our United Church tradition, we have a much different concept of sainthood, with it encompassing all those who are part of the family of Christ, but in particular we refer to the ‘Communion of Saints’, those who have gone before us and who have left us with their memory and their influence on our lives. The Christ candle reminds us that the spirit of God is always with us and in our still, quiet moments we can feel the great multitude, the communion of saints, the cloud of witnesses that no one can count, surrounding us with love, wisdom and strength. We are not alone, we live in God’s world, thanks be to God.
Lighting of the Pride Candle
Call to Worship:
On this All Saints Sunday, we gather to remember teachers and storytellers who made God’s stories come alive for us.
We give thanks!
We remember preachers and lay leaders who led our worship through the years.
We give thanks!
We remember choir members, organists, and all the musicians who sang and played your praises.
We give thanks!
We remember parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and siblings who showed us how to hold fast to the faith.
We give thanks!
We remember our church families – this one and others we have loved. We remember all those who have been a part of this faith family with whom we grew our faith and our love for God and neighbor.
We give thanks!
We remember our ancestors in the faith, whose courage enables us to be here today.
We give thanks for the saints who came before us, are present here with us, and will continue after us. Thanks be to God!
Opening Prayer:
Lord, we thank you for your presence with us today as we worship in the company of the saints who came before us. We thank you for the saints, past and present, who are here with us today, caring, comforting, guiding. We ask that you bless us as we worship today, and pray that we always strive to be more saint-like ourselves. Amen
Sue Carleton, Shallow Lake U.C.
Hymn: VU 315: “Holy, Holy, Holy” (vs 1,2,4)
Scripture:
Ephesians 2:18-20 “For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone.”
Anthem: Music through the ages, Saints and Singers
Scripture:
James 5: 14-16
14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
Introduction of Guest Speak Sherri Fournier-Hudson:
The scripture we just heard was written almost 2,000 years ago, at a time when medicine was still in its infancy. Sickness was often attributed to sinfulness and healing options were often limited to prayers, herbs, oils and ointments. It was the best they could do with the knowledge that they had at the time. We now have a much better understanding of the causes of illness and how to prevent and treat it, and while faith, prayers, and homeopathy can still have a place as part of the overall wellness and healing process, we are fortunate that over the ensuing millennia, medicine has advanced to the point that we can prevent many illnesses and treat a vast array of health issues and injuries in ways that could never have been imagined all those centuries ago. Unfortunately, physician shortages to provide these vital services are a constant challenge, and it is my pleasure to introduce Sherri Fournier-Hudson, who is working hard to bring the healing hands of more physicians to our local area.
Guest Speaker: Sherri-Hudson Fournier, Physician Recruitment
Hymn: MV 12 “Come Touch Our Hearts”
Invitation to the Offering:
We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. As we give thanks for the saints who have shaped our faith, we receive our morning offering—translating our gratitude into care, compassion, and support for God's work in the world. As the offering is brought forth, I invite each of you to come forward and light a candle for the saints in your life, past and present, and offer thanks for their lives and the blessing that they were, or are, in yours.
Offering Prayer (after candle lighting is complete):
Gracious God, you call forth saints not with perfection, but with purpose—to grow in faith, abound in love, and serve with steadfastness. Receive these offerings as signs of our gratitude, and use them to build up your church and bless the world in Jesus' name. Amen.
Prayers of the People and The Lord’s Prayer:
Heavenly Father
On this All Saints Day we celebrate every saint who has lived among us and are now with You in heaven. We give thanks for how they lived their lives while amongst us. Saints still live among us in kitchens, classrooms and hospitals. With their courage, love and devotion to everyone through the ages, they are signs that You work through ordinary lives.
We give thanks for blessings you generously bestow upon us every day. This fall season has come with many days of warm dry weather, the bounteous crops the farmers harvested to feed their animals, and for the food grown for us to nourish our bodies. We thank them for their dedication and their hard work.
In this time of turmoil around the world, we give thanks for this great county of Canada, its stable government and our leaders. We pray they make wise decisions for the benefit of all, now and for the future.
We ask that the many services we are fortunate to have available to us continue to provide medical care, wisdom to doctors, recruited from around the world, who work tirelessly to keep us healthy. And for educational opportunities, the teachers who train the adult citizens of tomorrow.
We ask you today to be with our family and friends, Give comfort to those in their time of suffering ill health, or tormented by sadness and having to accept the loss of someone they have so dearly loved. Impress on them there is hope.
Gracious God, we know you hear our prayers and will respond to them, maybe not right away, but You will. We just have to be alert for your answer. We just have to trust and believe.
And we pray to You Lord, the prayer spoken around the world today:
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 that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen
Closing Hymn: VU 710 “Shall We Gather at the River”
Commissioning:
One: As we leave this place of memory and grace, we do not walk alone. We go surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses—the saints of every time and place who have shown us the way of Christ.
All: We go to carry their light into the world.
One: Go out into your daily lives with courage. Feed the hungry, comfort the broken-hearted, speak truth to power, and love mercy. Remember that in life, in death, in life beyond death, we are not alone; God is with us. Thanks be to God!
Benediction:
May the God of all grace, who has called us in Christ to a light that never fades, bless you on your journey.
May the love of Jesus Christ hold you steady as you walk among the living and remember those who have gone on before us.
And may the power of the Holy Spirit fill you with courage, peace, and hope, today and forevermore.
Choral Blessing: ‘Blessing’ Rumbolt (Joy Be in Thy Heart)
"A Village Church With A Heart For The World"
Christ United Church
12 Perth St., Lyn, ON, K0E 1M0
(613)498-0281 (Phone) (613)498-2589 (Fax)
lynunitedchurch@cogeco.net www.lynunitedchurch.com Follow on Twitter: @Ch1United