(Image: “Festival of Lights” John August Swanson, 2000, Painting Courtesy of Studio of John August Swanson)
©Order of Worship for Sunday November 02, 2025
Twentyfirst Sunday after Pentecost
All Saints Sunday
For the Avent Ferry UMC Worship Video Click Here (Link opens in a new window)
The worship video will be available live at 11:00 am
Prelude….…“When the Saints Go Marching In”………Greg D.
Coming of the Light:
Greetings:………………………………………………..Pastor Liz
Announcements:…………………………………………Lorri B.
Call to Worship:..Psalm 119:137-144..#843 UMH…Elizabeth B.
Response
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path.
Righteous are you, O Lord,
and right are your judgments.
You have appointed your testimonies in righteousness
and in all faithfulness.
My zeal consumes me,
because my foes forget your words.
Your promise is well tried,
and your servant loves it.
I am small and despised,
yet I do not forget your precepts.
Your righteousness is righteous forever,
and your law is true.
Trouble and anguish have come upon me,
but your commandments are my delight.
Your testimonies are righteous for ever;
give me understanding that I may live.
Response
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path.
Opening Prayer:…………………………………………..Elizabeth B.
We give you thanks, our God and Father,
for all who have died in the faith of Christ-
for the memory of their words and deeds
and all they accomplished in their time,
for the joyful hope of reunion with them in the
world to come,
and for our communion with them now;
in your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
(WSL #44)
Opening Hymns:………“For All the Saints” #711 UMH
Words: William W. How, 1864 Music: Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1906
1. For all the saints, who from their labors rest, who
thee by faith before the world confessed, thy
name, O Jesus, be forever blest.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
2. Thou wast their rock, their fortress, and their might;
thou, Lord, their captain in the well-fought fight;
thou, in the darkness drear, their one true light.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
3. O may thy soldiers, faithful, true, and bold,
fight as the saints who nobly fought of old, and
win with them the victor’s crown of gold.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
4. O blest communion, fellowship divine!
we feebly struggle, they in glory shine; yet
all are one in thee, for all are thine.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
5. And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long,
steals on the ear the distant triumph song, and
hearts are brave again, and arms are strong.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
6. From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast,
through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost:
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Passing of the Peace:…………………………………Pastor Liz
Let us offer signs of reconciliation and peace to one another.
Gloria Patri:…….“Glory Be to the Father”…….#71 UMH
Words: Lesser Doxology, 3rd-4th century
Music: Henry W. Greatorex, 1851
Glory be to the Father
and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning, to
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen. Amen.
Giving of our tithes and offerings………………Pastor Liz
Offertory:…………….“For All the Saints”…………………..Choir
Words: John Bell Music: English Folk melody © 1996 The Iona Community
AFUMC Giving Link: https://afumc.com/give/
“Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow” (The Doxology) #94 UMH
Adapted © 1989 The United Methodist Publishing House
Words by Thomas Ken, 1674, adapted by Gilbert Vieira, 1978
Music: Geistliche Kirchengesänge, 1623; harmony by Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1906
Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
praise God, all creatures here below:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Praise God, the source of all our gifts!
Praise Jesus Christ, whose power uplifts!
Praise the Spirit, Holy Spirit!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!
Prayer After Receiving:………………………………Pastor Liz
The Prayers of the People:………………………….Pastor Liz
Epistle Lesson: ……Ephesians 1:11-23……Elizabeth B.
In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.
I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may perceive what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come.
And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Hymn of Preparation:“As We Gather at Your Table” #2268 TFWS
Words: Carl P. Daw, Jr. Music: Skinner Chávez-Melo
Words © 1989 Hope Publishing Co.; music © 1985
1. As we gather at your table, as we listen to your word,
help us know, O God, your presence; let our hearts
and minds be stirred. Nourish us with sacred story
till we claim it as our own; teach us through this holy
banquet how to make Love’s victory known.
2. Turn our worship into witness in the sacrament of life;
send us forth to love and serve you, bringing peace where
there is strife. Give us, Christ, your great compassion to
forgive as you forgave; may we still behold your image
in the world you died to save.
3. Gracious Spirit, help us summon other guests to share
that feast where triumphant Love will welcome those who
had been last and least. There no more will envy blind
us nor will pride our peace destroy, as we join with
saints and angels to repeat the sounding joy.
Message: …….…A Chorus of Generosity……Pastor Liz
Response to the Word:
Holy Communion:
CONFESSION & PARDON
Pastor Liz: Merciful God, we confess that we have not loved you with our whole heart. We have failed to be an obedient church. We have not done your will, we have broken your law, we have rebelled against your love, we have not loved our neighbors, and we have not heard the cry of the needy. Forgive us, we pray. Free us for joyful obedience, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
All pray in silence.
Pastor Liz: Hear the good news:
Christ died for us while we were yet sinners; that proves God’s love toward us. In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
All: In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!
All: Glory to God. Amen.
THE PEACE
Let us offer one another signs of reconciliation and love.
All, including the pastor, exchange signs and words of God’s peace by crossing hands, wave to one another due to social distancing guidelines.
Pastor Liz: The Lord be with you.
All: And also with you.
Pastor Liz: Lift up your hearts. The pastor may lift hands and keep them raised.
All: We lift them up to the Lord.
Pastor Liz: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
All: It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Pastor Liz: And so, with your people on earth and all the company of heaven we praise your name and join their unending hymn:
All: Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.
Pastor Liz: In union with Christ’s offering for us, as we proclaim the mystery of faith.
All: Christ has died; Christ is risen; Christ will come again.
Pastor Liz: All honor and glory is yours, almighty Father, now and forever.
All: Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Closing Hymn: “I Sing a Song of the Saints of God” #712 UMH
Words: Lesbia Scott, 1929 Music: John H. Hopkins, Jr, 1940
1. I sing a song of the saints of God,
patient and brave and true,
who toiled and fought and lived and died
for the Lord they loved and knew.
And one was a doctor, and one was a queen,
and one was a shepherdess on the green;
they were all of them saints of God, and I mean,
God helping, to be one too.
2. They loved their Lord so dear, so dear,
and his love made them strong;
and they followed the right for Jesus’ sake
the whole of their good lives long.
And one was a soldier, and one was a priest,
and one was slain by a fierce wild beast;
and there’s not any reason, no, not the least,
why I shouldn’t be one too.
3. They lived not only in ages past;
there are hundreds of thousands still.
The world is bright with the joyous saints
who love to do Jesus’ will.
You can meet them in school, on the street,
in the store, in church, by the sea, in the house next door;
they are saints of God, whether rich or poor,
and I mean to be one too.
Dismissal with Blessing:…………………………..Pastor Liz
Postlude:…………………………………………………….Greg D.
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Sunday November 2nd Worship Service, All Saints Sunday