Memory prompts Action: Remember and Give Thanks

   We remember and give thanks.
   That’s what we do in the church. We remember … and we give thanks. We remember the story, from before time was kept through our own time and forward still, and we give thanks. We remember the story of Jesus Christ - who lived and loved and showed us how to love - and we remember the gift of the Holy Spirit that gave birth to Christ's church and are thankful we can be a part of God's ongoing work. We remember and give thanks.
   This weekend, as we celebrate All Saints Sunday, we will remember how the ministry we share now was embraced and lived by generations before us. We will remember by name those of our church family here at Bonaire who in the past year entered into the Communion of Saints. Names will be read, candles lit, lives honored, and holy memories stirred. We cannot begin to capture the fullness of their lives, but we can recall their place in our congregation and the ministry we carry on from them. And, no doubt, our minds will turn to others who touched our lives with God’s grace and showed us the way of faithful living. We will be invited to call their names, too.
   Finally, before each hour of worship is done, we will remember the words of Jesus, who said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this to remember me," in 1 Corinthians 11. Together we will share in the sacrament of Holy Communion. Jesus instructs us that memory prompts action. We remember and give thanks.
   May we be changed for the better by it. Grace and Peace, Scott