Click HERE for a special Music for Meditation, a virtual choir singing this hymn so appropriate to the intentions we share this week.
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For all the saints, who from their labor rest… Join us Sunday for our special “Totenfest” Service of Remembrance at 10 am, both in-person and via Zoom.
It’s not too late to share the names of any loved ones you’d like read aloud in worship! (We’ll begin with Eden members who’ve passed on since November 2020, and then include others you’ve requested be named in a candle-lighting ritual.)
Please email the office at edenchurchucc@sbcglobal.net or call/text Pastor Jacki at 773-655-4357 by 12pm on Thursday for inclusion in the bulletin. As always, there will be a portion of the service where you may simply name them verbally or silently.
This year, I invite you take a step further in preparing your hearts for Sunday morning. Whether or not you share these names with us for corporate worship, please take a moment to assemble pictures or other mementos that remind you of these special ones. Have them near you at home, or bring them with you to church (whether or not you choose to share them). May these moments of intention enrich our time together.
TOTENFEST
Why a “Festival of the Dead”?
We need it.
“Totenfest” is the name in German for the worship activities which honor the departed, and doing so in a way that is both thankful remembrance AND tender eternal connection. It’s a human instinct for the well-being we know in tending wholesome ties to our ancestors and beloved ones who have gone on before us. Every culture displays this longing in distinct ways.
While our Eden community is more diverse in ethnicity and culture than our immigrant founders, we have continued to uplift this tradition with affection for its German title. With the faithful of the ages, we affirm the importance of honoring the legacy of those who have passed on to eternity. We give thanks, in particular, for the courage and strength of the “saints” – famous or obscure – who have contributed to our life of faith. We give thanks for those dear loved ones who have blessed our lives — whether for a few years or many decades – and who by their examples or shortcomings drew us closer to Christ.
For the Good News,
Pastor Jacki
