Sometimes life goes by like a blur. It’s hard to really get a

good look at anything. There has been something about this

Fall that has made things zip by even more than usual. It is

amazing that it’s November!

I give thanks for November. In the midst of the blurring and

zipping we call our lives, we are blessed by November.

November whispers to us “Hey, did you notice?” November

whispers to us over and over again until we slow down and

take note. November whispers “Did you notice? God is with

us!”

The First Sunday in November is both All Saints Sunday

and Confirmation Sunday. All Saints remembers and honors

those who have gone before us in the church. We give thanks

for all the Saints who have been witness to you and me.

Confirmation Sunday celebrates our call to be witnesses of

God’s love for all those who will follow us. Confirmation is our

public re-commitment to the church and to our ministry, to our

neighbors.

November is also the month of giving thanks. We gather

for that purpose on Thanksgiving Eve, Wednesday November

25 at 6:30 PM but giving thanks is a vital part of our worship

every Sunday too. Giving thanks is a call out of the blur long

enough to see how our lives are blessed. Seeing how blessed

we are leads to giving thanks and gathering as a church family

for worship.

The month of November closes with the First Sunday in

Advent. Advent is our call of preparation. It is our call out of

the blur to get things in order because the baby King is coming.

Advent announces Immanuel– God is with us.

November—from All Saints Sunday to the first Sunday—

whispers that God is with us, from the beginning to the end.

God is with us—even in the blur.