Two Reflections for Sunday Nov. 8

My first month at Union Church was a wild and wonderful ride. Every week I learn more about what makes Union Church unique. One of the most obvious things is our diversity. In the past I have been a part of churches with diversity of age, ethnicity, culture, income, and lifestyle. Union Church is the first one with a diversity of Christian traditions. It presents challenges, but it is also marvelously refreshing. Thank you again for this opportunity for me to learn and grow as I help you navigate this time of transition.

As I write this, it is election day. Of course, I don’t know the outcomes of any propositions or positions. But I am sure of this, we probably have a diversity of opinions on the election. While I am confident that we will go through this election with grace and love, I still like to remind myself of John Wesley’s advice to Christians that he wrote in his journal on October 6, 1774, just before a polarizing election. He advised his community to

1. “vote, without fee or reward, for the person they judged most worthy

2. speak no evil of the person they voted against

3. take care of their spirits were not sharpened against those that voted on the other side.”

I’ll probably be unhappy with some of these election results. I usually am. I think it has been over two decades since the person I voted for in the presidential race won. I’m not sure that I have voted for the winner in a presential primary since then either.

Still, I will choose to focus on the positive whatever the election results may be. I choose to be thankful that we have political disagreement in our country. Yes, I wish it would be nicer, but there are many countries where political debate is not tolerated. We have debate because we have a voice.

I choose to be thankful that the God we serve transcends political partisanship. I’m sure that God has some strong disagreement with many issues on the right and on the left. But I also know that He loves those on the right and the left. Both sides have Christian truth in parts of their platforms.

I choose to respect our differences, even when the choice may seem clear to me. That doesn’t mean that I’ll agree with everything or refuse to take a stand. But I will always recognize that God has called us out of diverse backgrounds and situations. And while He calls us all to follow Him, He sometimes calls us to do it in different ways.

Whatever the outcome of the election, let’s keep these verses in mind.

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. – Romans 13:1

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except

from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. – 1 Timothy 2:1-3

Let’s keep whoever wins in our prayers continually.

Blessings,

Pastor Daryl

A Message from Barbara Murray

A Reflection for Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026

Encourage and Comfort One Another: Death Does Not Have the Final Word

Last Sunday, a fellow PSR student invited me to her Día de Los Muertos gathering and to participate in the Ofrenda—an altar recognizing those who are gone. I don’t pretend to be an expert on death, or even life, for that matter. And I certainly can’t say I am an expert on Life after death, or the second coming. But I can share with you some observations and thoughts prompted by two weeks in which my thoughts were drawn to death. Two weeks ago, I received news that the husband of a very good friend had passed away due to Alzheimer’s. I knew it was coming, as I knew this past year that the deaths of Mario Rabinowitz and Lee Lederer were imminent. More of a surprise were the deaths of a friend from my youth group days and the passing of two of my former students. Death surrounds us.

Ironically, at this time of year we celebrate three days that focus on death: “ALL HOLLOW TIDE,” made up of Halloween, All Saints’ Day, and Día de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead—or All Souls’ Day). Three days that remind us of and mark the transitory balance of dark and light, life and death. First, Oct. 31, which recognizes our fear of death, our need to ridicule it and show Death that we are in charge—or God is. Halloween, when skeletons and death masks, fairy princesses and Jedi Warriors all haunt our streets, knocking on doors.

Then, on Nov. 1, last Sunday, we recognized All Saints’ Day, when the Christian Church honors its Saints. This is a special day recognizing all those in our congregation and family circle who have passed, transitioned, crossed over- whichever phrase you choose to use- those who died in the past year and joined the great multitude of Saints of the Christian Church. The traditional lectionary reading for All Saints’ Day is Matthew 5:1-12, the Beatitudes. As theologian Diana Butler Bass says, “Some hear these words and think these are spiritual attitudes of despondency and broken-heartedness, docility, leniency, and so forth. God will transform these difficult emotions into a blessing. Others see them as literal—Jesus speaking of the poor and marginalized; those suffering. Powerless people are Saints of God’s Kingdom.” (Bass, A Beautiful Year, p. 301) Following Jesus means standing with and among the despised and oppressed. In the message of All Saints’ Day, we remember that when we do good for others, we do it for Jesus and for God; and we support those around us as we have been supported and encouraged by the Saints gone before us. As the song says, “They loved their Lord so dear, and God’s love made them strong, and they followed the right, for Jesus’ sake, the whole of their good lives long.”

Finally, we return to the Day of the Dead, La Día de Los Muertos. Contrary to what some think, Day of the Dead doesn’t celebrate death. Rather, it celebrates life, mocking death, dancing with it. It is a festival that invites death to the party, a family reunion of sorts. As I said, this has been a year of deaths. I can embrace the deaths because of my faith in the promises of Jesus Christ. Those baptized in Jesus have been promised that, like Jesus, we will be resurrected. We will be gathered and raised up when Jesus returns to earth to claim us. The Trumpets shall sound, and the lamps will glow with God’s glory.

We don’t really know what that will be like; we can only imagine from the Bible texts. We can read with rapt attention descriptions of life after death experiences and wonder. But mostly, we wait. We grieve yet celebrate those who have gone before us. We can try to be happy, but sometimes grief and anger are strong, and we find ourselves falling into spirals of despair, or we isolate from friends and community. That is where we, the Church, come in. Paul, in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, reminds us that we have hope and assurance. This assurance is powerful, but to me, the most important words, the directive I take, and invite you to take seriously, is: “Therefore, comfort one another with these words.”

We are not alone; we have each other to comfort, bolster, and strengthen in our faith and knowledge of Jesus’ promise of life after death. We say the words at least once a month at communion: “Jesus has died, Jesus has risen, Jesus will come again.” Paul tells us to remember this and reassure each other in a way that supports our belief. Jesus will come again, and the trumpet will sound.