{"id":4428,"date":"2024-11-03T19:13:13","date_gmt":"2024-11-03T19:13:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/2024\/11\/03\/the-saints-sheltering-us-based-on-isaiah-256-9\/"},"modified":"2024-11-03T19:13:13","modified_gmt":"2024-11-03T19:13:13","slug":"the-saints-sheltering-us-based-on-isaiah-256-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/2024\/11\/03\/the-saints-sheltering-us-based-on-isaiah-256-9\/","title":{"rendered":"Untitled"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe Saints Sheltering Us\u201d based on Isaiah 25:6-9 and Revelation 21:16a<\/h1>\n

Our guts are clenched<\/p>\n

We aren’t sure what comes next<\/p>\n

Terrible options abound<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It would be nice<\/p>\n

to be on that mountain<\/p>\n

or in the new Jerusalem<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

To be past the fears<\/p>\n

to be assured of life<\/p>\n

for things to be as God would wish<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

To be beyond sadness<\/p>\n

to know no more grief<\/p>\n

to be together in joy<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Though the prayer echoes through the ages<\/p>\n

thy kingdom come<\/p>\n

on earth as it is in heaven<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

it isn’t<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

yet<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Instead we gather<\/p>\n

to remember the Saints<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Bob who loved his wife too much to let her go<\/p>\n

Harold who enjoyed absolutely everyone<\/p>\n

Lois whose pure goodness flowed everywhere she went<\/p>\n

Nancy who thirsted for knowledge and connection<\/p>\n

Pat who loved kids to her core<\/p>\n

Beryl whose devotion cared for many generations<\/p>\n

June whose personality was its own source of gravity<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

We loved them<\/p>\n

They formed us<\/p>\n

They taught us<\/p>\n

They loved us<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

These, the newest of our saints<\/p>\n

now form the great cloud of witnesses<\/p>\n

with those who where already there<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

So many we’ve loved and lost<\/p>\n

and been formed by<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

So many saints<\/p>\n

So much wisdom<\/p>\n

resilience<\/p>\n

humor<\/p>\n

faith<\/p>\n

care<\/p>\n

love<\/p>\n

joy<\/p>\n

hope<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Enough, it might seem<\/p>\n

to make it through today<\/p>\n

and tomorrow<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This week<\/p>\n

this month<\/p>\n

this year<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Enough to shelter this storm<\/p>\n

Enough<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

There is love enough.<\/p>\n

In them.<\/p>\n

In us.<\/p>\n

In God.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Thanks be.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Nov. 3, 2024<\/p>\n

All Saints Sunday <\/p>\n

\n
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

Rev. Sara E. Baron\u00a0
First United Methodist Church of Schenectady\u00a0
603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305\u00a0
Pronouns: she\/her\/hers\u00a0
http:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/\u00a0<\/a>
https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FUMCSchenectady<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe Saints Sheltering Us\u201d based on Isaiah 25:6-9 and Revelation 21:16a Our guts are clenched We aren’t sure what comes … Continue reading Untitled<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[34,38,28,39,33,1377,537,1265,1378,56],"class_list":["post-4428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-fumc-schenectady","tag-progressive-christianity","tag-rev-sara-e-baron","tag-thinking-church","tag-umc","tag-all-saints-sunday","tag-enough","tag-first-umc-schenectady","tag-poetry","tag-schenectady"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4428"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4428\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}