Rochester, MN UCC - "Re-membering the Body of Christ" - Ephesians 1:11-23

This Sunday for All Saints Day, we will remember and honor our loved ones who have passed in the last year.  Before God and one another we will listen as our loved ones' names are read aloud, ring a bell in their honor, and pray for the rest of their souls.  Together we will look for solace in our belief in the communion of saints- that through the Spirit we are united to all members of the body of Christ, those who have passed as well as those still with us.

 It is especially fitting that we will also be celebrating communion on Sunday.  Each time we celebrate communion we hear the phrase, “Do this in remembrance of me,” read during the words of institution. The word remember can mean to recall, in this case to recall the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Yet the word remember can also mean to re- member, as in to put a body back together, to re-assemble the various members into a single body. In our partaking of the Lord’s Supper, we are being united to Jesus Christ, the head of the church, as well as to all other believers, the saints who make up the Body of Christ. As we remember our lost loved ones, we may find comfort in our faith that we are united with them in holy communion in this world, and in our hope to be united with them in full in the world to come.

 Join us in worship this Sunday as we remember our beloved saints, and celebrate our ongoing communion with them, with one another, and with God, in the church, the very body of Christ. Amen.

 Pastor Andrew Greenhaw