One could say that our legacy as Christians began two thousand years ago as the disciples and followers of Jesus continued his witness and ministry in the world. We are fortunate to have the Scriptural stories of those early followers, warts and all. They assure us that it is not flawlessness that makes us useful to Christ but faithfulness. Our own legacy here at Prescott UMC began 135 years ago in 1870 when Rev. Alexander Groves and a group of committed Christians formed a church in this Wild West community. For generation by generation like links in a chain, people have faithfully (with I’m sure occasional flaws) given of themselves to share the Good News of Jesus Christ through this church. Our slogan for our anniversary celebration is “From the Past Comes the Future.” We have many of the facilities and ministries to build on today because of the vision and faithfulness of those who went before us. Future members of PUMC will be building on what we do here and now as they minister to Prescott in future generations.

I learned on Wednesday night in the American Sign Language class that the sign for “belong” is touching your thumb and index finger like you would to make the OK sign with each hand then linking the two “O’s” together. It looks very much like links in a chain. We belong to Christ and in that belonging we are bound together with each other. Sometimes those links pass down through our family; in the second letter of Timothy we see three generations of Christians, Timothy, his mother, Eunice and his grandmother, Lois. The witness of Christ was passed from grandparent to parent to child. Other times those links are formed in the larger family of the church as the witness of Christ is passed from Sunday School teacher, small group leader, pastor or friend from church to another and another. Link by link, life by life, the great communion of saints is formed held together by Christ himself.

Today we are celebrating All Saints Day. Some Christians think of saints as people with extraordinary holiness and power. So many miracles have to be attributed to them before they get the title, however as Methodists we understand saint in a broader sense. A saint is a Christian person in any time or place. When the apostle Paul spoke of saints of the church, he was using this broader definition. I love the quote from a United Methodist Review article that is in your bulletin insert, “Saints are flesh and blood proof that a life formed and transformed by a dynamic faith in God is both possible and more rewarding than any other life one might imagine. Indeed, saints past and present show that ordinary people can live extraordinary lives of meaning, joy and transforming impact on others when they love God and neighbor “with all their heart, soul, strength, and mind.”^[i] A saint is a disciple of Christ who “lives his/her life in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” to quote Paul again (Philippians 1:27) Not that we can do this on our own or perfectly all the time, because we can’t. But as we read in 2 Timothy we “rely on the power of God who saved us and called us with a holy calling.” And so we are called to join, to belong to this great communion of saints living with a dynamic faith in God adding our lives to the links that have gone before us knowing that others will come after us.

I love to see our children in leadership roles in the church acting as acolytes, singing in choir, being liturgists, sharing in the Children’s Moment. They add such a great dimension to our church community and they often are a powerful witness to God. But even as they offer us gifts now I also see the light of the future in their faces. I hope and pray that they will be the ones who lead the church into the future bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to their children and their communities. They will build on what we have done; discarding some of it I am sure, but also launching from our faithfulness today. This is why we put our Dedication of Pledges on All Saints Day. The promises and commitments that we make today will determine the vitality of our church and ministries in the coming years. They will also determine what our children and future members have to build on in the years to come. Even as the saints have blessed us so, we are asked to bless those who will come after us. We are entrusted with keeping this church alive and strong today so that we can not only serve God’s purposes today, but provide the under-girding for tomorrow. Today we add our links in the 135 year chain of faithful witness.

As we heard from the Gospel of Matthew, “Let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” Or as the Message Bible puts it, “You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world;” that’s what a saint does. Through the giving of our time, talents, resources and lives we witness that lives can be formed and transformed by God through Jesus Christ. I love another quote from the United Methodist Review, “In light of our faith’s teaching that we humans are created in God’s image, its’ highly probable that there’s a saint inside each of us that’s trying to get out.”^[ii] As we celebrate the saints of the past let us allow the saint in us to prepare the way for the future for through Christ past, present, and future belong together in one communion, the eternal chain of promise that is, that was, and that will be. Amen.

Sermon delived by Rev. Nancy Cushman on November 6, 2005.