Each Sunday morning we will be sending an email to everyone in the congregation for whom we have email addresses, offering an abridged Sunday morning service — “virtual church.” For the latest news and updates from Walton, please check our Facebook page, Instagram and website.
Please contact office@waltonmemorial.com if you would like to be added to our email list.
Today’s service will be offered in 2 formats – a video and text. If you wish, you can download and print the service from this document – link – or you can read the complete service below.
The hymn-sing is at the end.
• Thank you from the Outreach Committee!
Please know what you are doing helps!
Please know what you are doing is acknowledged and it is appreciated!
Please know that the people on the receiving end are so grateful and thank you for continuing to support and help them. Thank you! Thank you!
Our modified Spaghetti Dinner raised over $2,000 with your very generous support, this amount will go to Wesley Mission in Hamilton. As well, your response to our Thanksgiving Food Banks appeal enabled us to pass on almost $2,000. to our local food banks.
Walton’s Outreach Committee is trying to maintain some of our Christmas programs. We want people to remember this time of year and the happiness that goes with it, even though we are in the midst of an unprecedented pandemic.
• We plan to have a food drive (monetary contributions are appreciated)
• A White Gift program (with gift cards to basic retailers, ie. Food Basics, Giant Tiger, Walmart, Shoppers, etc.
Monetary givings through the church givings would be appreciated as well. Donations can be dropped off at the church Tuesday to Friday 9:00am to 12:00pm. If these times don’t work, please contact the office to arrange an ppointment: office@waltonmemorial.com or 902-827-1643
• White Gift virtual service – call for participants!
Like all our services, White Gift is going to be different this year. Our virtual White Gift service this year will be led by our children and youth, as always, but instead of participating in a play, we’re asking Walton’s kids and teens to share their special gifts via photo and video. Whether their gift is singing, playing an instrument, dancing, juggling, or creating art, we want to share it with Walton’s congregation in this special service, as we encourage everyone to share their gifts of support with Wesley Urban Ministries this Christmas season. Think of it as a virtual talent show for a great cause!
• Submitted videos should be no more than 2-3 minutes in length.
• Videos should be recorded horizontally, not vertically.
• Subject matter/music should be church-appropriate .and related to the message of the Christmas season.
• Videos and photos will be included in the virtual service video, which is sent to Walton’s subscribers and shared on social media. Participating children will be identified by their first names only.
• Deadline for submissions is Wednesday, November 18th.
• Email videos and photos to sundayschool@waltonmemorial.com
• Upper Rooms for November and December are now available at the church. Please contact the office if you would like to purchase one. Thanks.
• FALL SPECIAL….MIKE’S SEVILLE MARMALADE is available for curbside delivery through the church office – $3.00 per jar. Please contact the office at 905-827-1643 or email the office at office@waltonmemorial.com to make arrangements. All proceeds go to Walton Treasury to fund programs and ministries.
• Walton’s prayer chain is open. Confidential prayers requests can be sent to office@waltonmemorial.com
• If you need Rev. Jim for a pastoral emergency, please email him directly at jamescgillwuc@gmail.com
• 
The Mitten Tree is up and ready for your donations! We know many of our knitters have been working hard on mittens, hats and scarves. Our shoppers have been picking up items when they see them on sale. All donations welcome!
“Warm hands and hearts”
Good morning and welcome to Walton’s Virtual Remembrance Day Service. This morning we are remembering all those who have sacrificed, and continue to work so we may live in peace, freedom and hope.
What do we remember today?
Decisions made to stand in the face of injustice. Lives lost because of that call. Hope and dreams that it might never happen again.
Why do we remember this time of pain and sorrow?
We remember so that we, too, might challenge injustice – in times of peaceful conversation, in times of painful conflict.
But where is God in all of this?
God is with “us.”
God is with “them.”
God is with the soldier and the civilian.
God is with us all, face covered in tears, hoping that we will find shalom.
What is this shalom?
Peace with justice.
Peace with hope.
Peace that brings new life.
God’s peace.
Then let us remember wars past…
Wars present…
And let us worship our God – the God of shalom.
(Richard Bott. The Gathering Pentecost 2019)
The measure of a people’s heart is this:
Do we remember the sacrifices of the past;
Do we work for peace in the present;
Do we declare hope for the future?
And so, we come now before God to name as our dream God’s reign of shalom,
to commit ourselves to the cause of peace, and to remember.
Let us worship God.
(Rod Sykes, The Gathering Pentectost 2020)
Let us pray: O God, our Help in ages past, our Home for today, and our Hope for the future, be with us now as we gather for worship this day. Support our voices as we sing songs in our own space, that celebrate your presence with us. Raise our spirits as we remember those who have died in times of war. Deepen our relationship with you as we pray and consider our faith. Open our hearts to understand your call to peacemaking and peacekeeping, empowering us to answer that call in all we say and do, in this service and in our daily lives. Amen.
(adapted Heather McClure, The Gathering, 2019)
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 and ever. Amen.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
Matthew 25:1-13
“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
Heinz used to be the “go-to” ketchup brand for Canadians before they pulled out of Leamington. The expression Heinz 57 is still used, however, to describe something with many different parts or origins in its makeup. I think the term also describes today’s message. Today is All Saints Sunday, Communion Sunday, Time Change Sunday and the last Sunday before our neighbours to the south hold their national elections.
In our teaching today from Jesus in the Good News according to Matthew, we hear an important lesson for all of us. Jesus says, “The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Last night was All Hallows Eve, aka Halloween. Walton did not host our Annual Masquerade this year, our fun family gathering that celebrates October 31st from a Christian point of view. All Hallows Eve, October 31st, is the prelude to All Saints Day November 1st, sort of how Christmas Eve is the prelude to Christmas Day.
November 1st is the day we not only remember the “big S” saints but also the “small s” saints who have touched our lives. We try to learn from their example and their inspiration. In our personal lives and in our congregation’s life we have been blessed by many saints both past and present. One of the challenges of Covid is that we have not been able to hold large worship services to celebrate the lives of some of Walton’s saints who went to be with Jesus over these last 8 or 9 months.
We give thanks and are so grateful for how they blessed this family of faith and the enduring legacy they have left us both personally and congregationally. Think of the saintly ones who have touched your life both inside and outside Walton. They are a true gift. They most likely have been those who did as Jesus said, “The greatest among you will be your servant.”
Today is our annual communion for All Saints Day, which we usually celebrate by coming forward to the front of the sanctuary and walking towards the cross to receive chancel communion. We invite you to prepare the elements you may have where you are this day and participate with us in this Lord’s Supper. Those who prepare and serve communion in person here at Walton are always so touched by the essential servant aspect of this sacramental ministry. For the greatest gift is not being served, but serving – whether it is the bread or wine of communion, or a Walton Outreach sponsored dinner at a local shelter or our annual turkey dinner which would normally be held next Sunday.
Today time falls back one hour. Since COVID, people tell me it’s hard at times to know what day it is, let alone what time of day it is. Many of our markers of daily life have been altered in one way or another. One of the reasons we pre-record our weekly virtual services is so people can watch the services at any time of day, from anywhere in the world. There are those who watch them more than once or send the services to their family or friends as well as sharing online. Servanthood can be lived out on social media by sharing our virtual worship with others.
Today is also the Sunday before the US elections. We pray for our American neighbours and their elections on Tuesday. Most of us watching this service today cannot vote, though I know some of you here in Canada and those in the US who watch our services can vote. So as I would say before any Canadian election, I encourage those of you who are eligible to get out and vote. You are serving by casting your ballot.
Over the years I have personally known many candidates and elected politicians at all levels of government of various political stripes. I still do today. The best ones exemplify what Jesus said: “The greatest among you will be your servant.” The purpose of political office is not to be served but to serve.
I pray this Heinz 57 message has blessed you in some way. Go be the servants Jesus calls us to be.
Loving God, Holy One, Your desire is for our wholeness and well-being.We hold in tenderness and prayer the collective suffering of our world at this time. We grieve precious lives lost and vulnerable lives threatened.
We ache for ourselves and our neighbours, standing before an uncertain future. We pray: may love, not fear, go viral.
Inspire our leaders to discern and choose wisely, aligned with the common good and peace. Help us to practice social distancing and reveal to us new and creative ways to come together in spirit and in solidarity.
Call us to profound trust in your faithful presence, You, the God who does not abandon, You, the Holy One, breathing within us, breathing among us, breathing around us in our beautiful yet wounded world. Amen.
(Source: Sisters of IHM in Scranton, PA via ASC parishioner Susan Brown)
Invitation to Offering
We are blessed to have the freedom to worship together in peace. Let us thank the Lord our God by the giving of our offerings today as we bring them forward to be dedicated to the work for peace and hope in this world.
♥ by secure online payment from your bank or credit card – waltonmemorial.com/donate
*Important Note*Please enter the donation in one person’s name (preferably the name shown on the credit/debit card) even if you give jointly with another person. As with cheques and cash, donations made online are automatically credited to both adults in the same household regardless of which one made the donation.
♥ by cheque through the mail slot at the Church office entrance or by Canada Post.
♥ by monthly PAR payments. To sign up contact stuart@waltonmemorial.com.
Remembering the generations who have gone before us, we have come to this place of peace to worship you, O God. Remembering the many who gave their lives so that we might be free, we have come to this hour of peace to worship you. Remembering all who have suffered loss and grief in the name of war, we have come to this service of peace to worship you. Remembering all who continue to live in the midst of violence, we have come with our gifts of peace to worship you. In Jesus’ name we pray, ever the Prince of Peace. Amen.
(adapted Kate Crawford, The Gathering, Pentecost 2)
Children of God, go back into this fragile world that God loves. Be gentle with the people you live with and love, and be gentle with yourself. Pray for peace in a world of war, for harmony in a world of discord, and for mutual respect in a world where fear, suspicion and hate squeeze the life out of people. Let us be committed to live, work, pray and even sing (don’t forget to sing, just be careful, without others close by) so God can use us. May God’s peace reign in our hearts, in our homes, in our nations, and in our world. Amen.
(adapted Juanita Austin, The Gathering, Pentecost, 2019)
This morning on Facebook and on YouTube, we’re sharing a video where Linda shares with us several of our favourite hymns! Sing along!
♬ Let There Be Light
♬ Last Night I had the Strangest Dream
♬ A Hymn of Remembrance
♬ Oh Day of Peace
♬ Oh God our Help in Ages Past
♬ Go Now in Peace
Here is Rev. Jim’s mid-week update from Wednesday, October 28th
