Grits and the Gospel - November 1, 2026

Hello friends and welcome to this week's episode of grits and the gospel. My name is Reverend Katie Griffiths And it is good to be with you today Today is All Saints Day. It is November 1st. I hope you have a safe and fun Halloween and We are so glad that you're joining us today on All Saints Day to remember the saint of our church so for our church St. Paul Chapel United Methodist Church. We have one saint. You will hear her name said it's Alice Brooks But I encourage you today as we go through the service and there will be a time for you To reflect on your own saints and name them that you do that that you think about the saints of your life that you remember and love and cherish So we will have a time of remembrance, but it is also the first Sunday of the month and so we will be Celebrating communion at my church. So you'll hear me refer to the communion table at the end of my sermon and so I Encourage you Once again as I do every first Sunday of the month to find a good place to worship Where you can also take communion and be a part of that tradition It is connecting it is lovely it is a spiritual practice that I believe for my own faith is one of the Main thing ways I connect with other people and with God. So I hope that you have that in your life as well But now let us come together in a time of worship on this All Saints Day the Lord be with you and also with you One of my favorite poems reminds us of how we are still communing with the saints of the church That every part of creation and every season can bring remembrance and comfort Here now the poem we remember them by Sylvan Carpins and Rabbi Jack Reimer as the rising Sun and at it's Going down We remember them At the blowing of the wind and the chill of winter we remember them The opening of the buds in the rebirth of spring we remember them in the blueness of the skies and In the warmth of summer we remember them At the rustling of the leaves and the beauty of the autumn we remember them At the beginning of the year and when it ends we remember them as Long as we live they too will live for they are now a part of us We remember them When we are weary and in need of strength we remember them When we are lost and sick at heart we remember them When we have decisions that are difficult to make we remember them When we have joy we crave to share we remember them When we have achievements that are based on theirs We remember them For as long as we live they too will live For they are now a part of us We remember them Let us come together now in a time of remembrance Living God our guide and guardian Who sits on the throne and delivers us into eternal life we give you thanks for the saints whose witness Has shaped our lives who now rest in the shelter of your embrace as We remember those saints who have died and entered into glory during these last 12 months. We remember their witness to your love and gratitude with Love and grace with joy and gratitude Alice Brooks we bless you for the life and love of these dear saints and rejoice that they have entered into the fullness of Life in your presence We also remember those saints who we hold in our hearts who have not been with us for some time Yet whose life and witness continue to form and shape us as your disciples We honor them now by lifting their names aloud or in our hearts On this all saints sunday, we remember that we too are living saints members of the family of god Saints members of the family of god with all the saints of the past The present and the future And so we remember we are god's children Witnesses of god's word that is at work in us and in the saints who have gone before Today and every day may we put on christ and live as saints who tend the poor comfort the mourners learn from the meek Affirm those who seek righteousness Offer mercy alongside the merciful and work for peace with the peacemakers until christ comes in final victory And we feast as the family of god at christ heavenly banquet Amen Let us come together now in a time of worship and worshiping the god that Preserves the saints The lord be with you And also with you today's psalm is from The 34th psalm verses one through ten and then ending with verse 22 Here now the word of the lord I will bless the lord at all times his praise shall continually be in my mouth My soul makes it boast in the lord. Let the humble hear and be glad Oh magnify the lord with me and let us exalt his name together I sought the lord and he answered Me and delivered me from all my fears Look to him and be radiant. So your faces shall never be ashamed The poor soul cried and was heard by the lord and was saved from every trouble The angel of the lord encamps around those who fear him and delivers them Oh taste and see that the lord is good Happier those who take refuge in him Oh fear the lord you his holy ones for those who fear him have no want The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the lord lack no good thing The lord redeems the life of his servants None of those who take refuge in him will be condemned Thus ends the first reading Let us come together now and be reminded of those things that Were the faith beliefs of our saints? And for us here today as well Friends, what do we believe? I believe in god the father almighty Maker of heaven and earth and in jesus christ his only son our lord who was conceived by the holy spirit Born of the virgin mary Suffered under pontius pilate was crucified dead and buried The third day he rose from the dead He ascended into heaven and sitteth at the right hand of god the father almighty From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead I believe in the holy spirit The holy catholic church the communion of saints the forgiveness of sins the resurrection of the body And the life everlasting Amen Let us pray dear lord we come to you today just so thankful That life does not end here on earth That we get to commune with you in heaven That we get to sit at your right hand and Be reminded of those That went on before us at your communion table Thank you for that opportunity. Thank you for the reminders. Thank you for the messages Thank you for the symbols and the signs of your love And of the love of our saints that have gone on before us Hear us now as we pray those words that your son our lord and savior taught us to pray Our father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come thy will be done On earth as it is in heaven Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever amen This gospel lesson is the familiar words of the beatitudes From the gospel according to matthew chapter 5 1 through 12 As you hear them today be reminded of those things that are we are blessed with As we go through life Hear now the word of the lord When jesus saw the crowds He went up the mountain and after he sat down his disciples came to him and 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 of heart For they will seek god blessed are the peacemakers For they will be called children of god blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness 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? The word of god for us the people of god Thanks be to god. Would you pray with me? Dear lord help me To convey your message today one of comfort and joy and hope Help my experiences of comfort Bring comfort to others Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of all of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight. Oh lord Our strength and our redeemer amen When cardinals appear angels are near It's a saying that has roots in both Christian and indigenous faith traditions The red color of the cardinal's feathers are said to represent the blood of christ Well the native american tradition says that they're a they are a carrier of messages from the spirit world For me, they've become a sign of remembrance for some of my favorite people I lived in a guest house in Macon that we called the cottage and I used to frequently see a male cardinal outside my window I always thought it was my grandfather morris And used to greet him when he came to visit I hardly ever saw the female cardinal with him, but when my grandmother gogi passed away The female started coming around more They became the reminder of the souls of my grandparents When I got to candler and moved to buford I didn't think much about the cardinal pair the week I moved into the parsonage I was standing at the kitchen window and lo and behold There was a cardinal pair I came to visit me almost every morning And as I made my coffee every morning and looked out over the church next door. I greeted My grandparents they were still with me On the journey that had taken that I had taken to fly the nest And go out of my own in this new life and ministry When I moved here to the campground I was so hopeful that they would also be here with me and sure enough Almost as soon as I moved in I walked I was out walking and a cardinal pair appeared My grandparents were still with me watching me from the air And every time I see them I say well hello there gogi and morris Blessed are those who mourn For they will be comforted Parakaleo is the greek word that is used in the original text it has many meanings with experts Say that in this verse it means to animate To encourage to comfort to console I love that first one to animate I think that's exactly what god does for us sometimes He animates the cardinals at the campground to remind me of the people I have loved and lost I wish the portrait I have of gogi would animate like the portraits in harry potter I wish she could talk with me and tell me some of the choices I need to make I wish She could give me that same look she used to give me when she did not like a choice that I was making Well, maybe not But I do love that the birds flying through the air remind me of my grandparents My grandparents It does comfort me to have a physical living presence near me to represent them Gogi used to say that when morris first passed away she went outside to take the trash out and saw a shooting star She also had a deep connection to butterflies She thought that meant they meant that morris had just come to life in a new form with a fully healed brain and body that the That it was comforting for her to know that the alzheimer's had been removed When he had come out of his cocoon into the spirit world God encourages and consoles us in many different ways. He sends reminders and physical signs of life when we need it most When we mourn the people we have lost or when we mourn the loss of innocence after a mass shooting or the devastation of buildings after a disaster We don't just find comfort. Sometimes we seek it out and search for it and hope for it When mothers lose pregnancies, we say the next baby is a rainbow baby that bridges the life Of the loss to the new life of the living So then every time they see a rainbow they Remember the loss of potential life And the beauty that comes after From the first time I visited the campground I was told this place is holy ground that the veil Is thin here between heaven and earth For over 150 years there have been people connecting with god here For over 150 years there have been deep and intense moments of spiritual awakening and laughter And love here and for eons before that there were indigenous people who lived and worshiped and loved Here as well This place at the bend of the creek is sacred in so many ways and for millennia of people It is comforting To be here. It is familiar to be here. It is connecting To be here It is the life that these different things represent and animate That bring comfort to the living It is the heartbeats and connections and messages of hope that they represent that help us remember and encourage us These reminders of the saints are a comfort to the living They come in many forms. They take many shapes, but they are the pericleo that jesus Promises I think we can take comfort in many of the beatitudes not just verse four Four When we mourn we can feel poor of spirit and we are promised the kingdom of heaven When we are sad we can hunger and thirst for the joy that we are missing And we are promised that it will be filled and we will find it Missing and loving someone comes from a place of pureness of heart and we are promised that god will reveal himself to us I'm reminded again of the benediction we use in life We find comfort when death comes we mourn and are comforted in life beyond death There is still a connection to the saints. We are truly never alone God is with us The saints are with us One of my friends calls me reverend doctor do little Because I have so many animals that follow me around this place I've talked to them all like they're friends Thank goodness not many people see me doing it or they would wonder about my sanity I greet the deer each morning. I hoot back at the owls each night And every day when I see the cardinals I tell my grandparents. Hello It makes me feel the comfort that god promises me all these years later after their death When a little piece of my heart still mourns how does god comfort you? What signs do you look for that life is abundant and the people we love are still with us Do you look for comfort in the changing of the seasons? Do you hear a song and remember a loved one our poems read a reminder of a first love? Does an old funny family story bring about laughter? God gives us comfort in many different ways There is no one way to mourn loss and there is no one way for us to receive comfort There are signs of love and hope and joy all around us You just may have to look through your tears to find them I love the connection to cardinals that the indigenous people had I like to think that seeing them around the campground is a message that they are still with me That my grandparents are still here Loving me and supporting me and caring for me that message of hope is one that we could all use That message that god sends through the flap of a wing and the bright red feathers of a bird Sent from the spirit world as a reminder of their saints. I'm hardly ever alone anymore There are constant eyes on me and taps of claw-footed paws following me A reminder that god sends love in all forms and at all times We are not alone God is here and so are our saints Thanks be to god In all of those times and in all of those places we remember One of the places that we also remember the saints is together at the table Every time we gather for communion, we do it with those gathered here and with those gathered at the heavenly feast It is one of the most sacred times It is one of the most sacred times That we have in worship I hope you feel that the gathering of believers as we come together at the table I hope that you feel that the people that have gone on before us come here where the veil is then to be with us And to commune with us And to worship with us And to celebrate with us Amen As we go through this week, let us not just mourn but be comforted Let we let us find those things that are comforting to us. Let us be open for new ways that god shows us comfort and reminds us of our saints because in life And in death and in life beyond Death god is with us. We are not alone Thanks be to god Amen