Tower Weekly

LOVELY LANE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
ALL SAINTS SUNDAY, YEAR A
NOVEMBER 1, 2026

† Stand as you are able

Organ Prelude
Welcome and Announcements
Introit “How Blest Are They Who Trust In Christ” Smith

How blest are they who trust in Christ,
When we and those we love must part:
We yield them up, for go they must,
But do not lose them for our heart

†Call to Worship

Come, people of God, to worship the One who calls us into blessed company of the saints
We come with open hearts, ready to receive grace.
Christ meets us in Word, prayer, song, and service.
The Spirit gathers us and sends us in love.
Let us worship God with joy and expectation.

†Opening Hymn “For All The Saints” UMH 711

Prayer of Illumination

Holy Spirit, open the Scriptures to us. Let the words read and proclaimed become a living word, so that we may hear Christ, trust your promise, and practice blessed lives as the saints who have gone before us in the life of the church. Amen.

A Reading from the New Testament Revelation 7:9-17 NRSV

After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, singing, ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God for ever and ever! Amen.’ Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, ‘Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?’ I said to him, ‘Sir, you are the one that knows.’ Then he said to me, ‘These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’
The Word of God, for the people of God. Thanks be to God!

Congregational Prayer

Merciful God, we pray for the church, for our neighbors, and for all who carry heavy burdens. Where there is weariness, give strength; where there is division, give peace; where there is grief, give comfort; where there is injustice, give courage. Form us as a people who embody blessed lives of the saints, and make Lovely Lane a witness of beloved community for Baltimore and beyond. Amen.

Passing of the Peace “Sweet, Sweet Spirit” UMH 334

Sharing Joys and Concerns

Pastoral Prayer

Response “Hymn of Promise” UMH 707

†A Reading from the Gospels Mark 4:26-32 NRSV

He also said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.’ He also said, ‘With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.’
The Gospel of our Lord. Praise be to you O Christ!

Sermon Reverend Levon D. Sutton, Pastor

†Responsive Hymn “Blest Be the Tie That Binds” UMH 557

Invitation to Offering

Offertory “Abide With Me” arr. Martin

Abide with me,
Fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens;
Lord with me abide.
When other helpers
Fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless,
O abide with me

I need Thy presence
Every passing hour.
What but Thy grace
Can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like Thyself,
My Guide and Stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine,
Lord, abide with me

I fear no foe,
With Thee at hands to bless;
Ills have no weight,
And tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting?
Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still,
If Though abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross
Before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom
And point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks,
And earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death
O Lord, abide with me

Offering Prayer

Generous God, receive these gifts as signs of gratitude and trust. Use them to strengthen worship, deepen discipleship, serve our neighbors, and bear witness to lives transformed by your grace and renewed by your love. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Holy Communion “Let Us Break Bread Together” UMH 618

The Great Thanksgiving UMH 13

The Lord’s Prayer

†Closing Hymn “When We All Get to Heaven” UMH 701

†Benediction

Go in peace. You are called by grace and sent in love. Follow Christ with courage, and serve with joy. Amen.

†Benediction Response “Peace, God’s Wonderful Peace” Runyan

Peace, peace, peace, God’s wonderful peace
Be with you now and evermore, Amen

Ringing the Bicentennial Bell
Organ Postlude