Hallowing our Saints

 

1 For all the saints, who from their labours rest,

all who by faith before the world confessed,

your name, O Jesus, be forever blest.

Hallelujah, hallelujah!                               Voices United 705

 To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: 

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the world.  For God, whom I serve with my spirit by announcing the gospel of his Son, is my witness that without ceasing I remember you always in my prayers...

Romans 1:7-9 NRSVue

Lots of congregations have created ways to "honour the saints" of their congregations during Sunday worship in November, even though this may not have a practice in the past. Tomorrow is All Hallows Eve (Halloween) while November 1st is All Saints Day and the 2nd is All Souls. 

In our United Church we've leaned toward the everyday saints in the New Testament sense, rather than emphasizing spiritual superstars with official designations. So in worship today our congregation acknowledged members of our faith family who have died during the past year as an All Saints and Souls memorial.That said, during my years in ministry I served congregations called St. James, St. Paul's, as well as two St. Andrew's! 

Yesterday we joined with others in resurrection hope at the memorial service for one of the "garden variety" saints of Trenton United, a lovely woman named Mary Jo who I wrote about recently. She was a loving wife to a husband who eventually died of dementia, she cared for her family, and she was active in the congregation in many ways through the years. Approaching the age of 88 she could have rested from her labours, but she was still "on the go", essentially to the end of her earthly life. A few days before she suffered a massive heart attack she participated in a study session I led on dying, and then on Thankgiving Sunday she was in church, only a few hours before her medical episode.

Being there together was an important opportunity to honour Mary Jo but also to reaffirm our place in the communion of Christ's servants and saints.