Instructed Eucharist for the Joyful Giving Campaign, preached on the Feast of All Saints, Sunday, 1 November, 2026, at All Saints, Collingwood, Anglican Diocese of Toronto.
Texts for this Sunday: Revelation 7:9-17; Psalm 34:1-10, 22; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12
Opening Hymn 277 How Blessed Are All the Saints
As part of our Joyful Giving campaign, each Sunday has a theme, something about our life as a church that is joyful. Last Sunday we looked at music, and today I’ve been asked to talk about our worship. So the good news is that there won’t be a sermon today. However, I will be offering some teaching moments during the service to explain what we are doing and why.
There are many ways to think about Christian worship. Not all worship features the bread and wine of the eucharist. We have services of the word, which simply feature scripture, music, and preaching. Morning Prayer is an example, and, if you come back here at 4pm, you’ll experience an Evensong service, which, again, is just scripture, music, and preaching. But for many Christian churches, on Sunday morning, the service centres on the meal of bread and wine that we share because Jesus told us to share in his memory.
The idea of a shared meal has deep roots in our faith. For the Jews, the Passover meal was how they gave thanks to God for rescuing them from slavery in Egypt. The invitation to a wonderful banquet runs through scripture. The prophet Isaiah imagines God preparing “a banquet for all the nations of the world” to celebrate the end of sorrow and death. (Is 25:6-9). In parables, Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like a king inviting people to a banquet. At the last supper, Jesus reinvents the passover meal to explain how his body and blood, sacrificed on the cross, will begin a new way of relating to God, a new promise or covenant of salvation.
The church from earliest times turned a shared meal into worship. The Book of Acts tells is that “they qdevoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the rbreaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2.42). Early Christians gathered on Sunday morning, the day of resurrection, for what they called a love feast. For St Paul, sharing this meal became a way of sharing in the life of Jesus. He wrote “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” (1 Cor 10.16). This idea of participation informs our word for “communion”. We have other names for communion. We often use the word eucharist, from the Greek word for thanksgiving, and some Christians call it the Lord’s Supper.
So it seems to me that the best way to explain our Sunday worship is to explain it as a dinner party. When we arrive at our host’s door, the host and the guests say hello, I’m glad you came, we’re glad you invited us. Likewise, the priest and congregation greet one another in the name of the Holy Trinity that invites us here, and we name the gifts - grace (or mercy), love, and fellowship (or friendship) - that God offers us. So let’s stand and do that.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
be with you all.
And also with you.
We continue with what is called the Collect for Purity which says something about our God and about how we hope that God will bring us closer to God’s self.
The Collect for Purity
Almighty God,
to you all hearts are open,
all desires known,
and from you no secrets are hidden.
Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
We remain standing to sing the Glory to God. It’s opening words, Glory to God on high, echo the song of the angels that the shepherds hear at the start of Luke’s gospel. It’s an act of praise and thanksgiving, a song like the song of the saints around the Lamb sing in our first reading today (Rev 7.9-17). We praise God not because God needs our praise, but because we want to thank God for what God has done for us. It’s a bit like the dinner guests saying “We’re so glad to be here, thank you for inviting us”. The Gloria can be said, but its best sung, because it is in effect a hymn.
Glory to God
Celebrant Glory to God in the highest,
All and peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly king,
almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father:
receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father.
Next we say or (usually) sing the Kyrie. The name comes from the greek, Kyrie Eleison, meaning Lord have mercy. The tradition of ninefold repetition (Lord have mercy X 3, Christ have mercy X 3, Lord have mercy X 3) is quite ancient. This prayer reminds us that we come to God as penitent sinners, seeking a mercy from God that we don’t deserve, but which we receive through God’s love and grace.
Kyrie Eleison
May be sung in three-fold, six-fold, or nine-fold form.
Kyrie eleison.
Christe eleison.
Kyrie eleison
Next we pray the collect. This is a prayer that gathers or focuses our thoughts. Each collect has three parts: First, we address God and say something about God’s character or actions in the world on our behalf. Second, we make a request. Third, there are words of praise called a doxology, and finally we end with an amen. Just as a dinner party can have a special theme or occasion, the collect can begin the theme of a service. In this case, the collect for All Saints begins with the work that God has done in Christ in creating the church, and asks that we may continue to follow the saints that have gone before us.
Collect
Almighty God, whose people are knit together in one holy Church, the mystical Body of your Son, grant us grace to follow your blessed saints in lives of faith and commitment, and to know the inexpressible joys you have prepared
for those who love you; through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The first part of our service, the Gathering of the Community, is now complete and so we move into the second part, which is called The Proclamation of the Word. Just as a dinner party, especially a family gathering, features stories about friends, relatives, and ancestors, so scripture tells us stories about our ancestors in the faith and what we can learn from them. Often our readings are chosen to be in conversation together, they often give us various viewpoints on a common theme, in this case, what it means to be a saint.
Because our faith has Jewish roots, normally the first lesson is from the Old Testament, today often called the Hebrew Scriptures. The Jews are our older brothers and sisters, and Jesus knew and prayed these scriptures. However, today is one of those days, like the season of Easter, where the first lesson comes from the New Testament. The designers of the lectionary wanted this reading from Revelation to help us understand God’s care for the saints gone before us, as we will now hear.
First Reading
A READING FROM THE BOOK OF REVELATION
After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!" And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, singing, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen." Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?" I said to him, "Sir, you are the one that knows." Then he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
The Psalms are prayers, and we pray them just as Jesus prays them. Ideally the psalms are sung, just as they would have been sung as pilgrims approached Jerusalem or as they entered the temple.
Psalm 34:1-10, 22
I will bless the Lord at all times;
* his praise shall ever be in my mouth.
I will glory in the Lord;
* let the humble hear and rejoice. Refrain
Proclaim with me the greatness of the Lord;
* let us exalt his name together.
I sought the Lord, and he answered me
* and delivered me out of all my terror. Refrain
Look upon him and be radiant,
* and let not your faces be ashamed.
I called in my affliction and the Lord heard me
* and saved me from all my troubles. Refrain
The angel of the Lord encompasses those who fear him,
* and he will deliver them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good;
* happy are they who trust in him! RefrainFear the Lord, you that are his saints,
* for those who fear him lack nothing.
The young lions lack and suffer hunger,
* but those who seek the Lord lack nothing that is good.
The Lord ransoms the life of his servants,
- and none will be punished who trust in him. Refrain
The second reading is sometimes called The Epistle, from the old Greek word for letter. The Epistle is from the New Testament, typically one of the letters that St Paul or others wrote to the first churches. They contain advice, encourageent, sometimes admonishment, and generally help us understand our faith better.
Second Reading
A READING FROM THE FIRST LETTER OF JOHN
See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
1 JOHN 3:1-3
Next comes the gospel. The word “gospel” comes from the Greek word for good news, and the good news is that Jesus Christ loves us and saves us. We read the gospel “among the people” because Christ came into the world to live among us; so the Gospel is the center of our parish life (John 1:1-14; 1 Corinthians 3:11).
Churches that have the resources often use processions with cross and candles to honour Christ in our midst, as we do. We also often frame the gospel with a hymn, called the gradual hymn, which Barry carefully chooses to highlight the theme of the gospel reading.
Gospel Gradual 439 Blest Are the Pure in Heart Verses 1 and 2
Gospel
THE HOLY GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST ACCORDING TO MATTHEW
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
MATTHEW 5:1-12
Gospel Gradual 439 Blest Are the Pure in Heart Verses 3 and 4
The Sermon
Martin Luther said that the church is a school for saints, so the sermon is lesson time, or if you will, the speech at a formal dinner. Everything we learn about our faith in Christ is embodied.. We need to hear a human voice speaking. We need that human voice to speak through personal experience and personality. The preacher’s role is to help us understand the good news of Christ in the world that we live in today. (Romans 10:14).
The Creed
The creed summarizes our faith as it has been handed down to us. By “catholic and apostolic,” we mean the faith and order of the early Church and the Faithful throughout history and around the world today. We stand to honour it’s importance, as we might stand for the toasts at a wedding or formal dinner. Barbara Taylor Brown once said that we say the creed together as an act of charity for those whose belief might be faint and not be able to say the creed. On another day, that might be us who are silent while others say it for us.
The Nicene Creed
The celebrant may invite the people, in these or similar words, to join in the recitation of the creed.
Celebrant Let us confess our faith, as we say,
All We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven:by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified
under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father.
With the Father and the Son
he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic
and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism
for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
The Prayers of the People
At a dinner party we might inquire about friends and family, and express our hopes and fears about current events. The Prayers of the People bring our cares, fears, and hopes together in the form of prayer, as the early apostles encouraged the church to make “supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people” (1 Tim 2.1-2). They are called the prayers of the people because they express our common concerns, and they are led by a layperson to remind us that we are called to pray.
The Confession of Sin and the Absolution
There is a solidarity in saying with others, “we need what we are about to receive because it makes us better”. We confess our sins together because none of us is really better than another. Just as at a dinner party we might find ourselves sitting beside others, we realize that we are all guests, all invited by grace, allto be fed and nourished by Christ, because we need this meal to remid us that Christ has freed us from our sins.
The people are invited to confession in these or similar words.
Celebrant Dear friends in Christ,
God is steadfast in love and infinite in mercy;
he welcomes sinners
and invites them to his table.
Let us confess our sins,
confident in God’s forgiveness.
Silence is kept.
Celebrant Most merciful God,
All we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbours as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us,
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your name. Amen.
Celebrant Almighty God have mercy upon you,
pardon and deliver you from all your sins,
confirm and strengthen you in all goodness,
and keep you in eternal life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
People Amen.
The Peace
The Peace can feel like a social time, but it has a theological purpose. Situated right after the confession and absolution, and just before the Eucharist, it puts into practice Christ’s words: “First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift” Mt 5.24). If there is someone in church that we would not share the peace with, then that is a sign that we still have some spiritual work to do.
Joyful Giving Testimony: Marie Bunting will talk about the work of the altar guild.
Offertory 319 Come, Let Us Join Our Cheerful Songs
The Offering
At All Saints we process the bread and wine to the altar along with the collection plates to show that all our resources belong to God, including our whole selves. We give thanks during the Prayer Over the Gifts.
The Eucharist
So now the feast can begin. We start with an exchange between priest and congregation called the Sursum Corda, Latin for lift up your hearts. It introduces the theme of thanksgiving that is the first part of every eucharistic prayer. There are six such prayers in our prayer book, some very ancient, some new. We use Eucharist Prayer 3 because it has variable parts for special days like All Saints. It does not have to be sung, but some clergy like myself like to sing and, as St Augustine said, to sing is to pray twice.
Eucharistic Prayer 3
Celebrant The Lord be with you.
People And also with you.
Celebrant Lift up your hearts.
People We lift them to the Lord.
Celebrant Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Blessed are you, gracious God,
creator of heaven and earth;
in the multitude of your saints
you have surrounded us
with so great a cloud of witnesses,
that we, rejoicing in their fellowship,
may run with patience the race that is set before us,
and together with them receive the crown of glory
that never fades away.
Therefore with angels and archangels
and with all who have served you in every age,
we raise our voices to proclaim the glory of your name.
After a reminder of the things God has done for God’s people in the the past, we get to the Sanctus, latin for Holy. Here we imitate the song of the angels and saints in heaven, as we acknowledge that the meal is holy because it comes from God.
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.
You’ll notice we rang a bell during these words to remind us that we are approaching the heart of the eucharist, which is what we call the Words of Institution. Here, we remind ourselves that we share this meal because Jesus told us to. As Anglicans, we have many ways of understanding Christ’s words “This is my body” and “This is my blood”. Some believe that the meal is a symbol, but others believe that Christ is somehow present with us in the bread and wine, which is why we treat the things on the altar with reverence. When the priest holds up the large round wafer, and then holds up the chalice, the bells ring each time to draw our attention to Christ’s presence in the bread and wine. We could use incense as well, but mostly we don’t, for reasons.
Celebrant We give thanks to you, Lord our God,
for the goodness and love
you have made known to us in creation;
in calling Israel to be your people;
in your Word spoken through the prophets;
and above all in the Word made flesh,
Jesus your Son.
For in these last days you sent him
to be incarnate from the Virgin Mary,
to be the Saviour and Redeemer of the world.
In him, you have delivered us from evil,
and made us worthy to stand before you.
In him, you have brought us
out of error into truth,
out of sin into righteousness,
out of death into life.
On the night he was handed over
to suffering and death,
a death he freely accepted,
our Lord Jesus Christ took bread;
and when he had given thanks to you,
he broke it, and gave it to his disciples,
and said, “ Take, eat:
this is my body which is given for you.
Do this for the remembrance of me.”
After supper he took the cup of wine;
and when he had given thanks,
he gave it to them,
and said, “Drink this, all of you:
this is my blood of the new covenant,
which is shed for you and for many
for the forgiveness of sins.
Whenever you drink it,
do this for the remembrance of me.”
Therefore, Father, according to his command,
All we remember his death,
we proclaim his resurrection,
we await his coming in glory;
Celebrant and we offer our sacrifice
of praise and thanksgiving
to you, Lord of all;
presenting to you, from your creation,
this bread and this wine.
We pray you, gracious God,
to send your Holy Spirit upon these gifts,
that they may be the sacrament
of the body of Christ
and his blood of the new covenant.
Unite us to your Son in his sacrifice,
that we, made acceptable in him,
may be sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
In the fullness of time,
reconcile all things in Christ,
and make them new,
and bring us to that city of light
where you dwell with all your sons and daughters;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
the firstborn of all creation,
the head of the Church,
and the author of our salvation;
by whom, and with whom, and in whom,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all honour and glory are yours, almighty Father,
now and for ever.
People Amen.
The Lord’s prayer reminds us that we are fed thanks to God’s care and love, and again invites us to be in love and charity with our neighbours and fellow dinner guests.
The Lord’s Prayer
Celebrant As our Saviour taught us, let us pray,
All Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial,
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and for ever. Amen.
The Breaking of the Bread
The celebrant then breaks the bread, reminding us that this meal is a symbol of our unity, and invites the people to partake of his Body and Blood.
Celebrant We break this bread
to share in the body of Christ.
All We, being many, are one body,
for we all share in the one bread.
Post Communion Prayer, Blessing, and Dismissal
So the dinner party is over and it’s time to go. This is the point where we thank our host, exchange good wishes, and get ready to go. Likewise, in the Post-Communion Prayer, we thank God for feeding us and ask for his blessing as we are sent back out into the world
Prayer after Communion
Lord of hosts,
we praise your glory reflected in your saints.
May we who share at this table
be filled with the joy of your eternal kingdom,
where Jesus is Lord, now and for ever. Amen.
We then receive this blessing in the celebrant’s benediction (Luke 24:50; John 14:12), before being sent out into the world to serve Christ (Matthew 28:16-20). Then, after the celebrating priest blesses the congregation, the deacon (if one is present) issues a dismissal, inviting us to carry the message of Christ out into the world.
Closing Hymn - Sing with all the Saints in Glory See Insert
Priest or Deacon: Followers of Jesus, inspired by the Holy Spirit, go and serve the world God loves.
People: Amen.
