Freelton Strabane United Church
To live our discipleship with integrity and grace.
Horseshoe Falls Regional Council
21st Sunday of Pentecost
All Saints Sunday
Sunday, November 22025
Freelton Strabane Anniversary Sunday
Minister: Rev. Will Wheeler, B.A. M. Div. 905-659-3380 E-mail: [email protected]
Music Director Joan Simpson
One: We pray we should hold our arms up the air.
All: No when we pray we should kneel
One No we really should fold our hands and bow our heads.
All But…whenever we pray, we honour God. However we pray , we honour God.
One when we worship we should be quiet and attentive pray and sing hymns
All no when we worship we should sing and dance in the isles
One No we really should have discussions like children’s time for adults
All But …however we share in God’s praise we know that God is there.
One wherever we are,
All however we are,
One whoever we are…
All let us worship God together
Prayer For all your saints, we give thanks O Christ. For those who brought us into this world and taught us how to live here. For those who told us the gospel story, and lived that story before us as our examples. For those wise folk in the church who embodied for us the shape of this faith. For those foolish folk in the church who showed us how easily it is to wander from the paths of righteousness. For those dear, departed souls for whom we still grieve, those whom we hope to meet at another day on another shore. For all the saints thank you. Amen.
One: Come once more to here our Story
All: We love to hear the story
One : Listen, Our lesson is from 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4,11-12
One This is the word of the Lord
All Thanks be to God
One: In the word we find the inspiration of the Spirit Here the goodness of the Gospel taken from the Gospel of Luke 19:1-10
One: The Word of God for the People of God
All Thanks be to God
Prayer
Lord as we ponder your words open our hearts that we may understand and know you. Amen
Sermon
Most stories will start with “Let me tell you a story about” or the classic “Once upon a time” Long before the Mark penned his Gospel, or people started their collection of Jesus sayings there was the story teller.
Let me tell you the story of when Jesus did this or Jesus said that.
Once upon a time there was a man named Zacchaeus. Not a tall person actually not tall at all. Not only was Zac a little short in stature he was also somewhat short in moral fiber and also a tax collector. This left him at times short of friendship. On one certain day while thinking of beginning his rounds of tax collecting there was a rather a large crowd in the center of town. Of course, all the tall people were upfront but not discouraged Zac climbed a conveniently placed tree. For a good look. It was this Jesus fellow who he had heard about. Then the unthinkable happened. This Jesus stopped in front of his tree and said.
Zacchaeus, make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” Zac’s first though was me, and second was what to serve. So he made haste and came down, and received Him joyfully. However those around where not impressed at this honour as they saw Zacchaeus as short in moral fiber. They all complained, saying, “He has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.”
Now Zac knew who he was, but he felt somehow changed having Jesus come as a guest and said to Jesus. “Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.”
Then Jesus put his hand on Zac’s shoulder and spoke so all could here. “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; For I tell you I have come to seek and to save that which was lost.” And that is the end of the story.
You see stories like to be told and each story teller tells it in their own way. Jesus was a story teller he told his story in his way. Then those that came after told Jesus Story in their way.
If you go to Jericho, they will show you a very large a very old sycamore tree in the center of town and they will tell you that this is the very tree that Zac climbed. They will also tell you of the local spring which had brackish water flowing from it and Jesus touched the water and it was made sweet. They will take right into the reservoir that the spring feeds. So the Story goes.
Each of us has our story. Sometimes we are the hero of our story and sometimes maybe not so heroic and maybe even the antagonist. Sometimes, our story seems clear and other times we have to climb a tree to see where we may have come up short only to have God offers us grace the way that Jesus offered Zac grace.
We each see our story our way, but others see our story there way. We are a part of other’s story. The same as those that have gone on before us are a part of our story.
Who we are as a community of faith lives in our story and how we tell it. Anniversary Sunday’s are the Sycamore tree for us to climb to see our story. From those branches we can see the 160 years of stories that came from Freelton United Church and 170 years of Stories from Strabane. They were the foundation for the Story of Freelton Strabane and it’s three years of story telling. The next Chapter the next story is still to be told.
The Story starts with the Stories of Jesus but is contained in the stories of the Ancestors.
Today is All Saints Sunday, All saints day is November 1 and in Mexico it is Dia de Los Muretos. The day of the dead. It is an ancient Mexican Indigenous tradition honoured by Mexican’s around the globe. In a recent CBC article it said that People honour their late families, friends, children, and pets by reflecting, celebrating and decorating graves, cemeteries, streets and homes. They bring life back through memory, love, and vibrant colours, welcoming the dead. Remembering the dead is important, it was noted, because if you don't, they die again — this time of sadness. Those who are now saints of heaven live in Stories of them Families gather to honour and remember their deceased loved ones. Families will create alters adorned with photos favorite foods and other items of the departed. The day is to emphasize a joyful reunion between the living and the dead. It is a vibrant tradition demonstrating the deep connection between the life and death in Mexican society. It is an important part of their story.
All Saints truly begins on All Hollows Eve which is actually an ancient tradition. I Came across a very good explanation of this annual event by a social media content creator. He states (and I did tweak here and there as the storyteller) All Hollows Eve comes from an Ancient sacred time, to mark the turning of the wheel of the seasons. Now it marks the move to Christmas (advent the annoying church thing)
It was originally known as Samhine the time when the vale between the worlds becomes thin. A sacred threshold between life and death light and shadow.
A time for the living to honour the ancestors. The ancestors the dead are not gone they walk with us still. In the ancient times fires would be lit to guide them and bread and wine and honey laid out for them to sup upon. It is a time of remembrance and reminder of the balance of all things. A reminder that all endings are also a beginning. That the ancient current of life still flows today mostly not seen as the movement of the Holy Spirit not heard or seen The ancient current is a ribbon of love from the creator that is older than history itself still binding us together.
A time to remember those that walk beside us. A time to honour their wisdom to open ourselves to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Bound to us by that ribbon of love.
A reminder that life and death dance together and that love is what transcends all things and moves us forward.
Our Ancestors are not gone but woven into our bones and a part of our dreams. They are with us as a part of the divine light that burns within our center. We become the memory of those that have gone before us and they live in our story
I did add a few bits but truly I can say I believe this. I was at an open house hosted by the congregation that bought the former Freelton United Church. They explained that traditionally their churches have a center aisle. (they are of course happy with the two side aisles that they have know) The tradition is that the Pews are for those in worship but the aisles are for the departed saints to walk in and be a presence among them. I thought that this is a wonderful tradition and belief.
Anniversary remind us that all things change. Yes it is hard but, well, All Hollows eve reminds us that in all the aspects of our life we are never truly alone. That is very comforting.
As I said last week at Rockton’s Anniversary last week
To build a road one must first walk it and we are led forward first by Faith.
Jesus stopped and looked up at Zac, and had faith that he was a better person. Jesus saw that the road this person was to walk and offered him grace and Zaccheaus was changed. Anniversary Sundays are for us to remember our saints and honour the road we have travelled that road which brings us to our present and points us towards our future.
We believe in the presence of the Holy Spirit. We have faith that God has called us to walk this road and it is true that it will mean changes. Change is always hard. However, change produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
Our present is informed by our past our presence helps shape our future, we live in hope that in the future the essence of who we are as a community of faith committed to supporting caring community continues on by our faith that God in Christ threw the Holy Spirit walks with us reminding us that we are not alone.
Prayers of the people
Hear our prayer we humbly offer
Grant to us your peace O God
Hear our prayer we humbly offer
Grant to us your peace O God.
Prayers
God who presence spans our whole human existence we give thanks for all the saints who now from their labours rest. The faithful of Freelton Strabane, the Saints of Freelton and the Saints of Strabane. May their names be blessed. They came with a vision and you where their rock and your Holy Spirit their Guide. They live in our stories.
We give thank for the love we have known in the Saints in our lives and the continued love we feel as they surround us and the love which flows from you O God.
Yours is a love that heals and sustains us that we can look to for strength. We pray for those in your world who need that strength. We pray for those that we are called to walk with and name them before you.
We are thankful that you have called us to be a community of faith and we trust in you to lead us forward through your holy spirit. Give us wisdom God to own that Our present is informed by our past our presence helps shape our future. We pray as we live in hope that in the future the essence of who we are as a community of faith committed to supporting caring community continues. Lord hear our own personal prayers of petition and thanksgiving. We offer you the great prayer which binds us as one saying Our Father….
Offering
We give thee but thy own. The work of the Church continues and there are three ways you can continue to support that work. Consider using PAR, use the donate button on our Web Site or drop your gift at the Manse. Let us make our offering and give thanks.
One: Praise God who from all Blessing flow
Prayer . We give from the abundance of your gifts to us, merciful God. We reach out to the beggar and to those too proud to beg, with equal concern and compassion. We dare to minister to the needs of our enemies as well as our friends. We would share the riches of the gospel with all Amen
One: In the presence of a changing church
All we will find our way as the people of God
One: Go out into the world to do good works of God in an ever changing world
All: We have been strengthened in our faith by the Presence of the Saints of heaven above and those that surround us
One: Receive from God the hope to which you have been called, that you may live as forgiven and forgiving saints.
One May God the one who brings us comfort surround you, May Christ our Joy walk with you. May the Continued presence of The Holy Spirit illuminate our path and keep us safe until we can gather again in community. Amen
Yesterdaywe honour our heritage.
Todaywe know that we are not alone,that we live in God's world.
Tomorrowwith God,we will discoverthe undiscovered country.
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