(male voice speaking faintly, off-mike) (dramatic organ music) 

- Good morning, welcome to this All Saints celebration and our observance of Parents Weekend here in the university. Our lector is the Executive Vice President of Duke University, Dr Charles Putman, and leading in the service today is the Reverend Oli Jenkins, the Director of the Wesley Foundation here at Duke. Let us stand for the greeting. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you. 

Congregation: And also with you. 

- The risen Christ is with us. 

Congregation: Praise the Lord. (organ overture to "For All the Saints") ♪ For all the saints, who from their labors rest ♪ ♪ Who thee by faith before the world confessed ♪ ♪ Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ Thou wast their rock, their fortress, and their might ♪ ♪ Thou Lord, their captain in the well-fought fight ♪ ♪ Thou in the darkness drear, their one true light ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ O may thy soldiers, faithful, true, and bold ♪ ♪ Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old ♪ ♪ And win with them the victor's crown of gold ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ O blest communion, fellowship divine ♪ ♪ We feebly struggle, they in glory shine ♪ ♪ Yet all are one in thee, for all are thine ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long ♪ ♪ Steals on the ear the distant triumph song ♪ ♪ And hearts are brave again, and arms are strong ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ (organ solo interlude) ♪ From earth's wide bounds ♪ ♪ From ocean's farthest coast ♪ ♪ Through gates of pearl streams ♪ ♪ In the countless host ♪ ♪ Singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ 

- Eternal God, we praise you for the great company of all those who have finished their course in faith, and now rests from their labors. 

Chorus: We praise you for those dear to us whom we now name before you. 

- To all of these, grant your peace. 

All In Unison: Let perpetual light shine upon them and help us so to believe where we have not seen that your presence may lead us through our years. 

Oli: And bring us at last with them into the joy of your home, not made with hands, but eternal in the heavens. 

All In Unison: Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. 

- You may be seated. 

- Let us pray together the prayer for illumination. 

All In Unison: Open our hearts and minds, O God. By the power of your Holy Spirit, so that as your Word is read and proclaimed, we may hear with joy what you would say to us today, Amen. 

- The first reading is taken from the seventh Chapter of the Revelation to John starting with verse nine. "After this, I looked and there was a great multitude "that no one could count, "from every nation, "from all tribes and peoples and languages, "standing before the throne and before the lamb, "robed in white with palm branches in their hands. "They cried out in a loud voice saying, "salvation belongs to our God "who is seated on the throne, and to the lamb. "And all the angels stood around the throne "and around the elders and the four living creatures. "And they fell on their faces before the throne "and worshiped God singing, "Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom "and thanksgiving and honor and power and might "be to our God for ever and ever, amen. "Then one of the elders addressed me saying, "who are these robed in white and where have they come from? "I said to him, sir you are the one that knows. "Then he said to me, "these are they who have come out of the great ordeal. "They have washed their robes and made them white "in the blood of the lamb. "For this reason they are before the throne of God "and worship him day and night within his temple. "And the one who's seated on the throne will shelter them. "They will hunger no more, and thirst no more. "The sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat. "For the lamb at the center of the throne "will be their shepherd "and he will guide them to springs at the water of life "and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." This is the word of the Lord. 

All In Unison: Thanks be to God. 

- This reading is from the first letter of John, versus one to three of Chapter three. "See what love the father has given us, "that we should be called children of God, "and that is what we are. "The reason the world does not know us, "is that it did not know him. "Beloved, we are God's children now. "What we will be has not yet been revealed. "What we do know is this, "when he is revealed, we will be like him. "For we will see him as he is, "and all who have this hope in him, "purify themselves just as he is pure." This is the word of the Lord. 

All In Unison: Thanks be to God. 

- The final reading is the Beatitudes from the Gospel according to St Matthew in the fifth chapter. "When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain. "And after he sat down, his disciples came to him, "then he began to speak and taught them saying, "blessed are the poor in spirit, "for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, "for they will be filled. "Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. "Blessed are the peacemakers, "for they will be called children of God. "Blessed are those who are persecuted "for righteousness' sake, "for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. "Blessed are you, when people revile you, and persecute you "and utter all kinds of evil against you "falsely on my account. "Rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in Heaven. "For in the same way they persecuted the prophets "who were before you." This is the word of the Lord. 

All In Unison: Thanks be to God. (organ music leading the choral singing of the Beatitudes) (stirrings of choir sitting down) 

- See what love the Father has given us that we should be called children of God. And so we are. When the mayor of Minneapolis explained why he would not be running this year for another term. He did not cite rising crime statistics, ethnic strife, trouble with the police. He replied, the root of all our city's problems is the breakdown of the family. What's happening between parents and kids in this country is killing us. It's All Saints here in the Chapel and it's Parents Weekend here in the university. And All Saints is that time when we pause, as a church, to acknowledge the saints. I am not here as a Christian on my own. Somebody had to tell us this story and live it before us or we wouldn't be here. And so today we give thanks for the saints, our parents in the faith. And I remember a few years ago, a student noting that she had been in the church all her life and she had never even heard of All Saints. And she said I get the impression, it's like a big deal, here in the Chapel. And I said, yeah. And she said, but that makes sense. And I said, why does that make sense? And she said, well I mean we're all young adults, we're all looking for models, we've all been sent here because of somebody else's gift. And I said well you can skip next All Saints "cause you've kinda got the point, that's what we're doing. And it's Parents Weekend here in the Chapel and that's when we acknowledge our debt to our parents. We wouldn't be here at Duke, we wouldn't be anywhere actually, without our parents. And it's interesting that John uses a parental analogy in talking about what has happened to us in Jesus Christ. See what love the Father has given us, to call us children. And you think about, the scripture often resorts to familial analogies in speaking about the divine human relationship through what is for us human beings the most intimate human relationship we know, the family. Now I'll admit that the New Testament is ambivalent about the family. As far as we know, Jesus was not married. Jesus begat no children that we know of. Paul had decidedly, at best, ambivalent opinions of these matters. And yet this verse, naming God as parent and us as God's children, read in this context 1993 North America, it's fraught with irony. When a Houston Oiler's player took time off for the birth of his first child, Coach Bob Young fined him for missing the game. And it's interesting how we fasten on that episode because I think, in our heart of hearts, we know that that episode characterizes our ambivalence towards family and parenting in this society. Last April, in the Atlantic, Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, published a bombshell of an article in which she argued that the two parent family is better for child rearing than our single parents and step families. And I think all she did was courageously report what a lot of us have expected but lack the guts to admit. Three out of four teenage suicides occur in households where there's an absent parent. 80% of adolescents in psychiatric hospitals come from broken homes. Five out of six adolescents caught in the criminal justice system were raised by one parent. This article was followed by another one, by a Vanderbilt political science professor, Jean Bethke Elshtain, who wrote that when one considers all the factors in the current assault upon children and the family, quote, "father absence is the single most "important risk factor for children." Let me repeat, the most important indicator of childhood problems, from poor health to poverty, to behavioral problems, is whether a child grows up in a two parent or a single parent or a no parent household. The strongest predictor of domestic violence and violence against women, are single parent households. A stable two parent household is the best protection, not only against abuse but against the possibility that a child himself or herself will grow up abusive. While we admire those single parents, the vast majority of whom are mothers, who persevere, it's essential that our society take an honest look at what we're doing to our children when the one parent family becomes the norm in the American family. In our support of single parents, if we move to a public philosophy, which acts as if nothing is at stake ethically, psychologically, spiritually, and the rise of fatherless homes, we're ignoring the facts. By the year 2000, if present trends continue, 60% of all American children will spend their childhood in a home with no father. No government program that anybody can devise can deflect the rage of a child who feels abandoned, bereft of the most reliable trustworthy love any of us can hope to have, the love of two parents. And in this context, what's interesting is the silence of the intellectual establishment, and is our liberal stress upon do-your-own-thing individualism. And liberation from responsibility to anybody other than myself. The source of the problem rather than its solution. Glamorous TV portrayals of life without father have little to do with reality. The Murphy Browns of the 90s, single mothers by choice with incomes of over 50,0000 a year, are less than one tenth of 1% of the unwed mothers in this country. And to speak nostrums about freedom and choice to a 14 year old under-educated pregnant woman is the height of upper class conceit. We live in a society unfriendly to parenting. 20 years ago, 15% of our children grew up in poverty. During the Reagan years, that percentage doubled all the while talking about how much we love family values. And most of that poverty is produced not by the government but by divorce and out-of-wedlock births. And yet the government also has a responsibility. Back in 1948, the government allowed a tax exemption of $600 per child. And today's exemption adjusted for inflation is considerably less. In 1948, a family of four at the median income paid .3% of its income in taxes. By 1989, that same family was paying 9.1%. The proportion of children born to unmarried women has doubled in the lifetime of a Duke sophomore. Most women after divorce find themselves in considerably worse financial circumstances. And for the children, it's not only the national disgrace of fathers who refuse to pay child support, but the problem of the psychological scars of absentee fatherhood. In a 1991 book, Furstenberg and Cherlin report that after divorce, half the children surveyed had seen their fathers in the entire 12 months preceding this survey. Fathers of children born out-of-wedlock visit and pay even less. Conservative Christians have got to overcome their aversion to government aid if poor families are going to receive the economic encouragement they need to survive. And liberal Christians have got to quit neglecting the family and children's issues in a misguided emphasis upon individual liberation and personal autonomy and freedom. Here at Duke, for instance, we need more flex time. And we need more work-home arrangements for parents with young children. Working parents have got to have more time with infants. And yet above all, what's happening to parents and children is not just a public policy, governmental, economic issue. For Christians, there is something deeply ethical, definitely spiritual going on here. Because for Christians, being a parent is not just something we decide to do, a lifestyle choice, for as long as we find it interesting. Parenthood is a Christian vocation which requires everything you've got, your whole life. Parenthood is something you give back to God in gratitude for your life. It's important to say you don't have to be married and you don't have to have children to be a Christian. However, for those Christians who are called to the vocation of marriage and parenthood, being the best husband or the best wife, the best parent, is something we do for God. A witness that my life is not my own. The practice of Christian hospitality toward the most vulnerable in our world. Unfortunately, I hate to report this is a bad neighborhood for such commitments. As far as I know, Duke University only has maybe two courses in our entire curriculum on marriage. And next to nothing on parenting. It's as if we presume that everybody who comes through here is gonna leave here and then be a full time stockbroker or a lawyer and just take time off occasionally from the office for basketball. It's as if we faculty believe that it takes brains to write a term paper but any fool can bear children. And if you look at some of our faculty marriages and our families, that ought to put that thought to rest. (congregation chuckling) Our neglect of the family is part of this culture's general overall devaluation of those tasks performed primarily by women. What is the goal of a university education? Where are we all moving here? Shortly after she came here, Vice President Janet Dickerson was asked that question in a meeting with the members of The Religious Life staff. And Vice President Dickerson replied to the question what would you like Duke students to get here, she said, well I'd hope that many of them would gain the information, the skills, the insights they need to be good husbands and good wives and good parents. And I can remember that because it came as a shock to members of The Religious Life staff that any of these little devils reproduce themselves (congregation laughing) 
and go out from here. And we felt judged by that. What does it mean to struggle intelligently with the task before us? And I'm saying as a Christian. It means what does it mean to struggle and ask God for the gifts you need for the vocation that you're doing for God. At Duke Chapel, we now have Engaged Encounter Weekend in the Spring to prepare people for marriage. We've got now a Christian Marriage and Family Endowment to prepare students for this vocation. Each year we've got a seminar on interfaith dating and marriage. When we asked a group of students recently, what would you like to see more programming on that would help you as a Christian, the number one thing we heard from them is we'd like to see more programming on how to be in a two-career marriage and be Christian and be faithful. They know. Churches have got to do more to support heroic single parents, who against all odds are attempting to be faithful to their children. And just the phrase, their children, raises questionable Christian insights. When, in my last church, a single parent mother of two appeared on Sunday morning, having dressed and then re-dressed and then dressed again these two little toddlers, and she said, there. And then some of these surplus grandparents moved out there and said, you go on to your class, we'll take them to Sunday school, they can sit with us during church, at the church. Let's all go out to lunch together, then we'll take them to the zoo. I needed to say, look this is the church's response to single parent families. We don't believe in single parent families as Christians. Of course the nice thing is we've never believed in two parent families. We've got something called baptism, where you bring your children forward for adoption at baptism and say, we can't make them a Christian, all the rest of you have to do it with us. That's why we need the Saints. Who told older people in our churches that the goal of life is to get enough to move to Florida where you can be irresponsible and you can say things like, I've already raised my children, now it's somebody else's problem. No, irresponsibility is ugly, whether it's in a 17 year old or a 70 year old. The church needs to be the place to say, look things are too bad for a bunch of senior citizens to be running around irresponsibly. You get over here and help us care for your children. As you come to this table today, would you please remember, would you give thanks for the Saints that brought you into this world and who lead you through it and some day will help you out of it? See what love. And as you come would you pray to God to grant us the wisdom in our day, to live our lives in such a fashion that others, particularly the little ones, might see the love of God reflected in our love for them. If you're married or you one day think that you might be called to be married and have children, ask God to give you the gifts you need, and they are many. To be a witness. To be a protest in a world which devalues the little ones. And if you're single, come and ask God for ways to show your loving support, as a witness, as a protest in a world that devalues the task of parenting and childbearing. Let's give thanks for the Saints and ask God for the gift in our day, that a future generation might look at us and give thanks for our saintly witness. Amen. 

Oli: The Lord be with you. 

Congregation: And also with you. 

- Let us pray. O God like a mother, you knit us together in our mother's womb. As your children hungering and thirsting for you, we have come here today to feed on your body and blood. We have come here this hour to be loved by you. And through your perfect love, transformed into children again, born again into the communion of Saints. You have given us life and that life we offer back to you now in praise, in trust, in thanksgiving. Like children, we have come to ask for your forgiveness. We have come to be held near to your heart, near enough to hear your still small voice, as it comforts us and speaks good news to us. O Jesus who came to us as a child, we pray for the children of the world, for the children who will sleep in cars and under bridges tonight, for the children who live in fear even at home, for the children who search for food this hour, for the children who have been martyred for their faith and the faith of their parents, for the children who like you are refugees, for the children growing up in places of violence and war. Give us eyes to see you, as you come to us again and again, in the disguise of a child in need. We pray too for all the sons and daughters gathered here at Duke. We pray that their parents will raise them in such a way that with your grace they will become poor in spirit, gentle and merciful. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Women and men who will be pure in heart. Who will be peacemakers. O God of our mothers and fathers, we pray for all parents who have been entrusted with your children. We pray for all parents searching for food, clothing and shelter for their children. We ask your blessing on all parents courageous enough to baptize their children into this faith, that they will be true to their baptismal vows and true to living Gospel lives with their children. We pray for all Christian homes that you would make sanctuaries of them, places of prayer and hospitality. Places where you will be welcome when you stand at the door and knock. We pray for all broken families. You have given us the ministry of reconciliation. So enable us Lord to offer forgiveness and healing, love and comfort within our own families, and then to our enemies and to the world. Forgive the church for its brokenness, and restore it to a unified family. Enable us to live as brothers and sisters with one another. We pray these prayers in the name of the blessed trinity, world without end, amen. Jesus Christ is our peace, therefore we can live at peace with one another. Let us stand and exchange that sign of peace with our neighbors. (exchange of peace stirrings and murmurings) God has given us all good things. Let us bring to the Lord our gifts and offerings in thanksgiving. You may be seated. (jazzy saxophone solo improvisation) (organ overture "Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow") ♪ Praise God, from whom all blessings flow ♪ ♪ Praise God, all creatures here below ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ Praise God above, ye heav'nly host ♪ ♪ Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ ♪ Alleluia ♪ 

- Let us pray. The Lord be with you. 

Congregation: And also with you. 

- Lift up your hearts. 

Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord. 

- Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. 

Congregation: It is right to give our thanks and praise. 

- It is right, a good and joyful thing always and everywhere to give thanks to you, Father Almighty, creator of Heaven and Earth. Blessed are you, God of Abraham and Sarah, God of Miriam and Moses, God of Joshua and Deborah, God of Ruth and David, God of priests and prophets, God of Mary and Joseph, of the apostles and martyrs, and God of our mothers and our fathers, God of our children to all generations. So with your people on Earth, all the company of Heaven, we praise your name and enjoin in their unending hymn. (organ overture "Holy, Holy, Holy Lord - Sanctus") ♪ Holy, holy, holy Lord, ♪ ♪ God of power and might, ♪ ♪ Heaven and earth are filled with your glory ♪ ♪ Hosanna in the highest ♪ ♪ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord ♪ ♪ Hosanna in the highest ♪ Holy are you and blessed is your son, Jesus Christ. On the night in which he gave himself up for us, he took bread, gave thanks to you, broke the bread, gave it to his disciples and said, take, eat, this is my body given for you. Do this in remembrances of me. And when the supper was over, he took the cup, gave thanks to you, gave it to his disciples and said, drink from this all of you, this is the blood of the new covenant, poured out for you and many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. And so in remembrance of these, your mighty acts, in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves, in praise and thanksgiving, a holy and living sacrifice, in union with Christ offering for us, as we proclaim the mystery of faith. (organ overture to Memorial Acclamation) ♪ Christ has died ♪ ♪ Christ is risen ♪ ♪ Christ will come again ♪ Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here and on these gifts of bread and wine. Make them be for us, the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world, the body of Christ. Renew our communion with all the saints, especially those whom we now name before you. Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, strengthen us to run with perseverance, the race set before us. By your spirit, make us one with Christ and one with one another. And one in ministry to all the world until Christ comes in final victory, and we shall feast at that heavenly banquet. Through your son, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, and your Holy Church, honor and glory is yours, Almighty Father, now and forever. (organ overture to choral "Amen") ♪ Amen ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ Let us pray with the confidence of children as our Lord has taught us. 

All In Unison: Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever, amen. 

- When we break the bread, is it not a means of sharing in the body of Christ? When we give thanks over the cup, is it not a means of sharing in the blood of Christ? Come to the Lord's table. (organ overture to "Let Us Break Bread Together") ♪ Let us break bread together on our knees ♪ ♪ Let us break bread together on our knees ♪ ♪ When I fall on my knees ♪ ♪ With my face to the rising sun ♪ ♪ O Lord, have mercy on me ♪ ♪ Let us drink wine together on our knees ♪ ♪ Let us drink wine together on our knees ♪ ♪ When I fall on my knees ♪ ♪ With my face to the rising sun ♪ ♪ O Lord, have mercy on me ♪ ♪ Let us praise God together on our knees ♪ ♪ Let us praise God together on our knees ♪ ♪ When I fall on my knees ♪ ♪ With my face to the rising sun ♪ ♪ O Lord, have mercy on me ♪ ♪ Let us praise God together on our knees ♪ ♪ Let us praise God together on our knees ♪ ♪ When I fall on my knees ♪ ♪ With my face to the rising sun ♪ ♪ O Lord, have mercy on me ♪ (organ solo music) (organ music changes to "Shall We Gather at the River") ♪ Shall we gather at the river ♪ ♪ Where bright angel feet have trod ♪ ♪ With its crystal tide forever ♪ ♪ Flowing by the throne of God ♪ ♪ Yes, we'll gather at the river ♪ ♪ The beautiful, the beautiful river ♪ ♪ Gather with the saints at the river ♪ ♪ That flows by the throne of God ♪ ♪ On the bosom of the river ♪ ♪ Where the Savior-King we own ♪ ♪ We shall meet and sorrow never ♪ ♪ 'Neath the glory of the throne ♪ ♪ Yes, we'll gather at the river, ♪ ♪ The beautiful, the beautiful river ♪ ♪ Gather with the saints at the river ♪ ♪ That flows by the throne of God ♪ ♪ Ere we reach the shining river ♪ ♪ Lay we every burden down ♪ ♪ Grace our spirits will deliver ♪ ♪ And provide a robe and crown ♪ ♪ Yes, we'll gather at the river ♪ ♪ The beautiful, the beautiful river ♪ ♪ Gather with the saints at the river ♪ ♪ That flows by the throne of God ♪ ♪ Soon we'll reach the shining river, ♪ ♪ Soon our pilgrimage will cease ♪ ♪ Soon our happy hearts will quiver ♪ ♪ With the melody of peace ♪ ♪ Yes, we'll gather at the river ♪ ♪ The beautiful, the beautiful river ♪ ♪ Gather with the saints at the river ♪ ♪ That flows by the throne of God ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ (general congregational stirrings) (saxophone postlude "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square") (jazzy piano accompanies saxophone solo) 

- God's thankful and prepared people, let us stand and sing the final hymn. (organ overture to "Sing with All the Saints in Glory" ♪ Sing with all the saints in glory ♪ ♪ Sing the resurrection song ♪ ♪ Death and sorrow, Earth's dark story ♪ ♪ To the former days belong ♪ ♪ All around the clouds are breaking ♪ ♪ Soon the storms of time shall cease ♪ ♪ In God's likeness we, awaking ♪ ♪ Know the everlasting peace ♪ ♪ O what glory, far exceeding ♪ ♪ All that eye has yet perceived ♪ ♪ Holiest hearts, for ages pleading ♪ ♪ Never that full joy conceived ♪ ♪ God has promised, Christ prepares it ♪ ♪ There on high our welcome waits ♪ ♪ Every humble spirit shares it ♪ ♪ Christ has passed the eternal gates ♪ ♪ Life eternal, heaven rejoices ♪ ♪ Jesus lives, who once was dead ♪ ♪ Join we now the deathless voices ♪ ♪ Child of God, lift up your head ♪ ♪ Patriarchs from the distant ages ♪ ♪ Saints all longing for their heaven ♪ ♪ Prophets, psalmists, seers and sages ♪ ♪ All await the glory given ♪ ♪ Life eternal oh what wonders ♪ ♪ Crowd on faith, what joy ♪ (static noise cutting off choral singing)