Honouring the Saints

Today a stalwart of the congregation I served before moving to Belleville will be buried. I imagine the service will be well attended because so many in the community knew Bob and his wife Peggy. I liked them both, and they were and are "saints" of the church. Admittedly Bob might be chuckling at that suggestion somewhere in that cloud of witnesses referred to in the New Testament book called Hebrews.

Tomorrow his death will be acknowledged during worship at St. Paul's as the congregation "remembers the saints" with a rose for each person who died during the previous twelve months. The same will happen here at Bridge St. United Church.  I inherited this lovely tradition when I went to St. Andrew's in Halifax, and I have passed it on to St. P's and now this congregation.

It is a way of saying "thank you" to those who have died in the faith, and those who may have been around the edges of faith. Another person who will be acknowledged is Lloyd, who didn't attend worship. His wife Marjorie did, so I got to know Lloyd when he had major surgery. He almost died then, and a couple of months later he received a terminal diagnosis. He lived for two years with considerable determination and courage and we spoke on a number of occasions. We did talk about God and I always concluded with prayer. I liked him, even when he forgot his profanity censor.

I know that a year from now the names read at Bridge St. will be closer to my heart, as I have the opportunity to get to know them. Tomorrow I will be present in both places, confident in the mercy of the living Christ for all those we remember.

Is it important to have these tangible rituals? Should honouring the saints be part of our liturgical life?