Sunday, November 1, 2026
Scriptures: Ruth 1:6-22
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In the second sermon of our new series, Chosen Family: The Story of Ruth, Yelena examines how we make the choices we make and what moves us toward a particular path. She highlights the harsh ancient reality of female vulnerability, where Naomi urges her widowed daughters-in-law to return to their families of origin for pragmatic economic security. Yelena shows how Ruth defies this script by choosing radical solidarity, covenant love (hesed), and shared vulnerability with Naomi. Finally, Yelena shows how the story captures Naomi’s raw grief and honesty with God as she arrives in Bethlehem, where a quiet hope begins, even as Naomi acknowledges the bitterness of her life circumstances.
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Community is shaped by the conversations we share.
These questions are just a tool to help you meaningfully engage with the themes of this week's teaching.Connect: Naomi, Ruth, and Orpah make tough decisions in the story that lead them to places’ where they couldn’t have anticipated what would happen.
Can you think of a time when you had to make a choice without knowing where it would lead? What gave you the courage to move forward?Share: Yelena shared a personal story from earlier in her academic career about the challenges surrounding discerning her vocational path and her eventual degree programs shift.
Have you ever made a major decision that seemed counterintuitive or risky on paper, but felt like the only way to stay true to who you were becoming?Reflect: Naomi’s pragmatic advice urged Ruth and Orpah to play it safe within the patriarchal systems of their day, while Ruth chose radical solidarity with a destitute widow.
Where do you see tension today between choosing conventional self-preservation and choosing costly, sacrificial solidarity with others?Engage: Naomi returns to her home country calling herself "Mara" (bitter), bluntly lamenting that the Almighty has dealt harshly with her, yet she stays in relationship with God and her community.
How does holding space for honest lament actually make room for hope and community in difficult seasons?Take away: What is one thing that you're taking with you into your week, either from the sermon or our conversation?
Prayer
God of all hope,
There is so much beauty in the way Ruth saw Naomi
and chose to journey with her,
carrying hope for her when Naomi could not carry it herself.
And we are so grateful for the people in our lives who do that for us.So as we go into this week,
May we pay attention to the ways we align our lives with what matters to us,
May we have courage to try new things and discover more of who we are,
And may we notice and linger on moments of kindness,
allowing them to shape the way we see you and one another.
In the name of Christ, who loves us, we pray.
Amen. -
Worship Songs
Curated by Alycia F.
Brooke Ligertwood - Looking
Hillsong Worship - Never Walk Alone
Mission House - Faith More Precious Than Gold
CityAlight - Yet Not I But Through Christ in Me
Liturgy
Written by Bobbi Salkeld
All Saints’ Day is just one of three days in Allhallowtide.
There’s Halloween or All Hallow’s Eve (that was yesterday)
All Saints’ Day (today)
And All Souls’ Day (tomorrow)
And the point of these three days is to remember the dead. We remember the saints who set an example of faith in their time,
And we remember those we’ve known who have died.The invitation to us on All Saints’ Day is to consider how much of your faith is not made up by you, but a continuation of what has been made by others.
As we come to the Eucharist table today, draw closer to the veil between the living and the dead. We are welcomed by the crucified and resurrected Christ. We are renewed by the saints who followed in his footsteps. We are grateful for those we’ve loved along the way.
Here is the story of Jesus’ final meal with friends:
On the night Jesus was betrayed,
He took bread, blessed it, broke it, and said,
This is my body – a body given for your healing and wholeness.
Eat to remember.In the same way,
Jesus took the cup, blessed it, poured it out, and said,
This cup is filled with my life – and it is poured out for many.
Drink to reconcile.Prayer
As Jesus said a prayer before sharing, let us do that too.Creator God, present at this meal,
the bread that we break and the cup that we share
are places where our Saviour meets us.
Broken, we are being made whole.
Poured out, we are filled with joy once again.
Holy Spirit, bless these elements of community
through the great cloud of witnesses.
Amen.