By Rev. Mark Breese: “Therefore, for the child, the imaginative inner life is unending. To them, from the midst of that inner life, their decisions and choices seem grand and consequential—and we adults watch in loving (and maybe even in envious) amusement, as they work through their great matters of consequence.”
This worship service the All Saint’s Day worship service of First Congregational United Church of Christ in Niagara Falls, NY. Since Pastor Mark at Community Missions has been (virtually) providing supply preaching for them, the church kindly invited the Mission to be part of their service today. The All Saints Day service (in many Protestant traditions) is where we remember all those who have died in the past year. Staff and program participants from Community Missions, Heart Love & Soul, and First Congregational requested several individuals names be included in the service. We hope that you too, while watching this service, will remember any loved ones of yours that may have died this past year. In the service we also remember all those who have died as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic: over 1.2 million worldwide including 230,000 in the USA as of 11/1/2020. [Please note, this video is a newer upload than the live stream that happened this morning. There were several technical problems that are corrected in this version.]
This worship service the All Saint's Day worship service of First Congregational United Church of Christ in Niagara Falls, NY. Since Pastor Mark at Community Missions has been (virtually) providing supply preaching for them, the church kindly invited the Mission to be part of their service today. The All Saints Day service (in many Protestant traditions) is where we remember all those who have died in the past year. Staff and program participants from Community Missions, Heart Love & Soul, and First Congregational requested several individuals names be included in the service. We hope that you too, while watching this service, will remember any loved ones of yours that may have died this past year. In the service we also remember all those who have died as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic: over 1.2 million worldwide including 230,000 in the USA as of 11/1/2020. [Please note, this video is a newer upload than the livestream that happened this morning. There were several technical problems that are corrected in this version.]
By Rev. Wendy Depew Partelow: “We bear one another’s burdens and we restore and are restored in a spirit of gentleness and love. But we also have to carry our own load and take responsibility for our actions against others.”
By Rev. Mark Breese: “Over that time I waited and kept hoping the tree would not break the fence. But, eventually, the pressure of the roots and the trunk lifted and then snapped off the nearest fence post at the ground and the fence sections broke apart. “
By Rev. Mark Breese: “what lengths we will go to in order to have our own selfish (and often misguided) ways and our own selfish (and often misguided) desires—and often at the expense of others and even ourselves. But there is a remedy”
For the past 9 years, Community Missions has been presenting this interfaith prayer service. It is held on the National Day of Prayer For Mental Illness Recovery and Understanding. this day of prayer is part of Mental Illness Awareness Week, which is the first full week in October each year. This year, our 10th anniversary of the service, was presented as an online service because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
By Rev. Mark Breese: “It feels a little magical and it helps float the troubles away for a time. Each step feels like I’ve entered the magical Technicolor world of OZ and I’m walking down my own ‘Yellow Brick Road’.”
By Rev. Wendy Depew Partelow: “Hope is built into struggle. We do not struggle or wrestle with something unless we have the hope of change. Our text does not say why Jacob wrestled with this stranger it only says that he did, all night long, and he wasn’t going to let go until he received a blessing.”
