Slideshow image

All Saints and All Souls

This Sunday, October 25, 2026, for our presided liturgy, we will commemorate the feasts of All Saints and All Souls.  In addition to being invited to share on the Gospel reading below, we invite you all to share the story of a family member, friend, hero, beloved non-human other, who has touched your life deeply and inspired you to be who you are in some way.  If you'd like to bring a picture of them too, you are most welcome.

 

We Gather in Battson Hall at Keystone United Church of Christ;

5019 Keystone Pl N., Seattle, WA 98103
 

This Week's Reading

From the Gospel attributed to Matthew

Jesus sat down with the people and began to teach them:

 

Blessed are all who have poverty of spirit, Who proclaim heaven in their need. 

Blessed are all who mourn, And those who offer hope and comfort to the mournful. 

Blessed are all who live in meekness; it is their strength and the inheritance of peace. 

Blessed are all who hunger and thirst for what is good and just. It is our hunger and thirst that will call the world in peace. 

Blessed are all who live in compassion. It grows and nourishes all. 

Blessed are all whose hearts are untarnished by fear. God is revealed in them. Blessed are all who live in peace; they are servants of the Holy. 

Blessed are all who, when encountering fear and hate, proclaim heaven with a response of love. Blessed are all who stand facing pain, loss and war; They are recognized as whole and holy. Let us rejoice! Be glad! Have hope and peace. These are all the rewards we need! 

 
 

The gospel is the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount, found only in “Matthew’s” gospel. The version the CCL uses here is adapted from a rendition written by former canonical priest, then RCWP priest Rod Stephens, now dwelling in the womb of God. (His birthday was November 1.) In the context of the All-Saints celebration, the beatitudes become a comprehensive list of the many ways in which people can be drawn into the Holy and the variety of people who, knowingly or unknowingly, will find themselves “ripe” for the experience of the Holy, now and always.