The celebration of All Saints Day on 31 October, also known as Reformation Sunday, this year again marked the date of All Hallows Eve in 1517 when Martin Luther, Professor of Moral Theology at the University of Wuttenberg sent his Ninety-five Theses considered to be the start of the Reformation.
We were recipients of a full teaching sermon from Revd. Robin Paisley of our Church, on readings from Isaiah 25.6-9, Revelation 21.1-6a and John 11.32-44. and in particular Jesus’ raising of his friend Lazarus from death. The overall theme of the three readings was ‘The promise of His Glory”. We realised that however long we have been attending church over the years , there is always something new to ponder. The powerful ”He will wipe away every tear from their eyes” in the passage from Revelation is always a reminder of the power of God, a passage so well known from attendance at funerals. But to continue, Robin dwelt on the current Cop26 and the reaction required of all of us in prayer and deeds to respond to this world threatening global warming and to wish for the world leaders to act now in this catastrophic situation which so manifestly impacts on the countries with the most to lose in terms of simply feeding their people.
On another topic close to our hearts we were given a useful link to a short video by Professor Leitch on the state of the covid pandemic which you can find by searching YouTube for “Thank you to Faith and Belief Communities from Professor Jason Leitch”.
Next week we shall move on to a new setting of our liturgy written by James Macmillan – The St Anne’s Mass – continuing our tradition of refreshing our services with music from a wide range of composers and librettists.