Dear faithful People of Christ the King Lutheran Church:
Yesterday, we observed REFORMATION SUNDAY with great joy and we are especially thankful to the Houston Boychoir who assisted us and our choir as we joined the praises of all the saints.
This last week of October is a quieter week as we prepare for the wonderfully busy month of November which begins with 11 very important days. Please remember that on:
• Saturday evening, October 31, we will begin our celebration of ALL SAINTS DAY at
our six o’clock Contemplative Eucharist.
• Saturday night/Sunday morning, we set clocks back one hour and enter Central
Standard time. (And get 1 extra hour to sleep!).
• Sunday morning, November 1, at 8:30, we begin our 11-day Veterans
Remembrance on the lawn in front of the nave. Each morning through November
11, we will hold a brief service and place 18 dog tags on the “tree,” commemorating
the number of veterans who took their own lives each day during the past year.
• Sunday morning at 8:30 and 11:00, we celebrate ALL SAINTS DAY and give thanks
for those who were baptized at Christ the King Church and remember those who
have died and entered Christ’s rest since November 1, 2025.
Our traditional OFRENDA (Altar of the Departed) will remain in the narthex throughout November. All are invited to place photographs of departed loved ones on the altar and the surrounding tables.
At each of our ALL SAINTS liturgies we will introduce two ancient but new-to-us liturgical traditions:
• A Sanctus Bell (see the historical description and explanation below) will be rung
at every Sunday and holy day Eucharist during the Words of Institution in the
Great Thanksgiving. On Saturday evenings, it will announce and conclude each
period of silent meditation. On All Saints Day, it will also ring as each name of the
departed is read.
• A Book of the Dead, containing the names of those who have died and whom we
are remembering, will be placed near the Presence Light in the nave during every
liturgy through Christ the King Sunday, November 22. Afterward, it will remain on
the altar table in the narthex.
What is a Sanctus Bell and how is it used?
Much like the tower bell rung at each petition of the Lord’s Prayer, inviting all who hear it to join in prayer, a Sanctus Bell is rung six times during the Great Thanksgiving at the Eucharist: at Jesus’ words “This is my Body” and “This is the new covenant in my blood”; as the presiding minister raises the Bread and Cup; and as the minister and congregation reverently bow their heads when the Bread and Cup are placed on the Table.
