Brothers and sisters,
In just a couple of Sundays, we will be celebrating All Saints Sunday. Now, if you’ve been coming to Hope Valley for a while now, you know what things typically look like on All Saints Sunday. You know what this Sunday means to folks and for folks. But for those that may not know about All Saints Sunday or for those of you who may be thinking, “I remember we always do some-thing that day, but I can’t remember what,” let me tell you a little bit about it.
All Saints Day has been celebrated by the Catholic church for centuries. Basically, it is a holiday on which Catholics remember and celebrate the saints of the Catholic church, i.e. Saint Peter, Saint Christopher, etc. They will also celebrate anyone who died for their faith. (By the way, we get our word, Halloween, from All Saints Day. “All Saints” can be written as “All Hallows” and since “All Hallows” is on November 1st, that makes October 31st “All Hallows Eve,” aka “Halloween.”)
However, as time has gone on, Christians—particularly us Protestants—have begun to refer to all believers as “saints,” since that is one of the words used by Paul to describe us. And so, we Protestants have be-gun to celebrate All Saints Sunday on the first Sunday of November. All Saints Sunday, then, is a time to remember those Christians that have come before us and celebrate their lives and their faith journeys. It is a time to contemplate the ways in which we have been shaped by “so great a cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1; NRSVUE).
It is also a Sunday on which we honor specific church members and/or the immediate family members of church members who have passed away within the last year. It’s a time when we can come alongside their family and remind them that we love them, that we are with them. It is a time to remind them that we loved their family member, too. It’s a time to catch up, tell stories about the person, and be grateful for all they meant to each of us.
This coming All Saints Sunday, we’ll be remembering five people who have gone on to glory: Bonnie Lyon, J.J. Bush, Dorothy Moore, Herb Finch, and Carolyn Tippett. During the service, we’ll read their names and have any family present stand. Then, we’ll light a candle for them and ring a bell. It’s a touching moment as we remember them.
So, plan to be here on Sunday, November 2nd as we remember those saints who have gone before us. Come to honor their legacy. Come to spend time with their family. Come to worship a God who promises us that death does not have the last word.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben