Today at our Patronal Festival we give thanks to God for the life of the saints who have gone before us. Our activities are intended to allow us to more deeply enter into their lives and draw inspiration from them. This is a wonderful invitation by God to reflect more deeply on how, through grace we are called into the Body of Christ, and become a community of saints, growing in love and responsiveness to God. As we know this community was founded by the bringing together of the congregation of St. Peter and St. Justine, therefore choosing to call ourselves All Saints. Today in our activities we have chosen saints that represent some of the churches our members grew up in so as to more deeply honour ALL SAINTS. It is my personal desire that this short time of reflection on the life of a saint of your choosing, will grow your curiosity to know more about the rich history of our Christian tradition. As we learn of the depth of our tradition, and see our own journey as part of this larger community of faith through the generations, perhaps it will enable us to better participate in the portion God calls us to.
The Gospel for today is our well known and loved Beatitudes. Here Jesus outlines some of the joys we will experience in being part of this living community of faith over the generations. Jesus also gives more depth to what some of our priorities, orientations and life style choices become as we grow in the Kingdom of God. I hope that over the week, you will find some time to reflect on how the Beatitudes speak into your life and practice. That you will look to the saints that have gone before us for inspiration and guidance. And that most importantly you will live this week in the joyful knowledge of belonging to this community, in this time, for this generation.
Today we give God all the glory, and we thank God for continued mercy, grace and faithfulness as He seeks to be a presence to us, and in us.
Pray for me, I am praying for you.

Reverend Anastasia Huntley

07 November 2021