All Saints Day

Children’s Chapel

November 6, 2016

Proper 27C

Theme: All Saints

Bible Reference: Ephesians 1:11-14

I.         Welcome: Good Morning girls and boys! I am so happy to see you all this morning! Do we have any new friends with us? (Welcome new friends.)

II.       Church Practice: (light altar candles)

We light these candles to remind us that Christ is the light of the world, and we are Christ’s light in the world. On our altar table today, we have a green cloth. The green cloth is the color we use for Ordinary Time.

III.     Opening Prayer: Let us Pray, “Heavenly Father, we are here to worship and praise you. Open our hearts and minds so that we may hear your words spoken to us through the Bible story today. Give us strength that we may serve you through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives, and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen”

IV.      Introduction: This past Monday, on October 31 we celebrated Halloween. Does anyone know where the word Halloween comes from? It comes from the name “All Hallow’s Eve.”  The word “hallow” means holy, so something that is hallow is holy.  A hallowed person is another name for a holy person or a saint. So the reason we call October 31 “All Hallow’s Eve” or Halloween is because it is the eve before “All Saints Day”, which is November 1. Although today is November 6, not November 1, we are celebrating “All Saints Day” today which is a special day to remember all people who have died and are now with God in heaven.

V.        Bible Reference for Teachers: 

Ephesians 1:11-14

¹¹In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, ¹²so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. ¹³In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; ¹⁴this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.

VI.      Response: Jesus’ apostle Paul wrote a letter to the Ephesians telling them and us us that those who are followers of Jesus are marked with the Holy Spirit and that we inherit new life with him now and forever. As we celebrate and remember the saints we recognize that they were people who loved Jesus and shared his love with others. When we think of the saints in heaven, we think of saints who are special to us. Some of these people are members of our family, our friends, and our neighbors, but many, many saints are people who have died that we do not even know their names. The saints too were people just like us who may have felt happy or sad, tired or hungry, excited or disappointed, enthusiastic or fearful.  They were born on earth and grew as children into adults who had families and jobs and participated in all activities. They played and ate and had to do easy and difficult things just like you and me. Just like you and me, the saints also had to trust in God to lead and strengthen them in everything that they did. Paul wrote in his letter that everyone who has lived and died in Jesus’ love is a saint. The good news for all of us as God’s children is that as we trust in and follow the path of Jesus, we are strengthened by his love to be able to live as the saints lived on earth and that one day we will be united with God in heaven together.

VII.    Closing Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank you for loving each one of us that you gave us your Son Jesus to show each of us how to trust in you so that we may strengthened daily in your love to live as you have called us to live on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.

Say the Lord’s Prayer together.

VIII.  Response Activity (Crafts, Singing, or another activity will be provided.)