And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away." And the one who was seated on the throne said, "See, I am making all things new. (Revelation 21: 3-5a)

We hope and believe in a life after this one. Each of us knows what it means to mortally live. Faith demonstrates our Christian willingness to believe in God's future providence without receiving it ahead of time. (Hebrews 11:1). The saints we celebrate on All Saints Day all were courageously faithful people. Some died for the sake of God's love, just as Jesus did. Many set aside their own personal wishes in order to act as Christ's apostles and missionaries in this dangerous world. Their mortal lives were not as important to them as was their Spirit-driven intention to proclaim God's love, mercy, and redemptive desire. They were not perfect people. Their faith almost in every case came with huge spiritual, physical, and emotional costs. They nonetheless believed that such suffering would not be eternal or their efforts become worthless. Such saints are present on the planet this afternoon, perhaps digging people out of the rubble of the Jersey Shore. Such saints may be breathing their last breaths even as they strive to protect helpless orphaned children in Syria. Saints, then and now, believe that God is present among mortals and Christ's healing work takes place now as well as when God will perfect all earthly things, making them new.

David Lose reminds us that becoming a saint is principally God's work, not ours. We invite God to sanctify us through our willingness to be set aside in simple, ordinary, or drastic ways for God's Grace and purpose.        

Lose writes: "Any work we do in faith can be called holy. Changing the diapers of our kids, or the diapers of someone else's kids in a preschool, for instance. Or volunteering with the Girl Scouts. Or creating a home where laughter resounds. Or deliberating about which candidate to vote for and then getting to the polls to cast that vote. Or being faithful in our duties at home or work. Or visiting a neighbor who has a hard time getting out. Or befriending a kid at school that other kids pick on. Or... Well, you get the idea. ..."  (Lose, 2012, p. 6).

The saints who have preceded us into God's Reign did not take all of God's work with them. There are plenty of great and small holy opportunities  when Jesus the Christ through his work and the Holy Spirit's presence beckons us to be saints who share God's love compassionately and authentically. Perhaps you will have such a chance tonight with the childlike goblins who come to your door seeking treats. Perhaps your holiness will manifest itself in an opportunity to care for your neighbors here in Cincinnati or further away in New Jersey or New York. The saints we will celebrate on Friday and Sunday assuredly welcome you to join them in the mortal and eternal celebration of Christ's victory over death and the proclamation of his love in the world today and forever.

Blessings Along The Way, Jim+ 

 Thursday, Nov. 1

11:00 - Episcopal Church Women
5:00 - 9:00 PM - Choral Rehearsals (Worship Space)

1.)  Deb Pitel is now physically in the office on Mondays and Fridays. She asked The Rector if she could reduce her number of hours at St. James so that she could accept a second part-time position.  Jim+ agreed because of the connection between Deb's graduate studies and the new employment opportunity and the fact that she resides on the East side of Cincinnati. We are consequently working on solutions to provide additional coverage in the office on Tues., Wed, and Thursdays. Please know that we'll do whatever we can to make sure that Jim and the vestry receive and respond to your important messages. Additionally, please know that we need to have your announcements to Sunday's bulletin no later than 3 PM on Wednesdays. Jim would also once again appreciate it if you would either e-mail or telephone him by Friday at 3 PM if you have an announcement to make on Sunday mornings.

2.) November is stewardship month. You might define stewardship in this manner: it's everything that we faithfully do and say that demonstrates our faith as baptized Christian believers in Jesus the Christ's life, death, resurrection, and Gospel. This year's pledge drive is going to have four themes:

• God as owner of all we possess and we as stewards of what God shares with us.
•  Recognizing the abundance God gives to us individually and as a parish
•  How do we experience and respond to God-given Grace.
• What our are practices of generosity as a Christian community of faithful stewards.

Each Sunday's sermon beginning with this Sunday will explore one of these things. You will be receiving stewardship materials and a letter from Jim later on in November. Please begin to think and pray now about what each of the questions means for you. Please also consider how important St. James is to you as one of your parish's members, stewards, and saints.