October 31, 2023


All Saints Day

But then there breaks a yet more glorious day:
the saints triumphant rise in bright array;
the King of glory passes on his way.
Alleluia!  Alleluia!

                - Evangelical Lutheran Worship #422

This weekend we will celebrate All Saints Day in the church. We will remember loved ones who have gone before us in the faith and now rest in the promised love of God in Jesus Christ. We will sing loud hymns in the sanctuary and gather in our Columbarium Courtyard to the sound of flowing baptismal waters. We will carry banners and announce the good news of God’s love in Jesus Christ for all God’s children.

All Saints Day is one of my favorite festivals in the church. The hymns are always big and bold, and remembering people of faith, the saints of old, always gives me strength for the year ahead.

But I like to think of “saints” not just as people who are now up in heaven watching what we are doing down here. That doesn’t work for me. I also don’t like to remember them for all the “good things” they did while they were on this earth, although I’m glad they did.
I like to think of the “saints” of the church as cheerleaders.  With angels and archangels and the whole heavenly host, the saints are up there rooting for us, pulling for us, encouraging us to do and to be our best.

The saints are the ones saying “Come on, you can do it!” or “You’ve got this” or “Try again. I know you are going to get it this time.”

With their holy pompoms and their haloed megaphones, they are chanting our names and urging us on. They are giving us as much support as they can possibly muster.

I think it’s the saints that surround us that give us strength for the day ahead and hope for tomorrow. When we are down, they lift us up.

Oh, blest communion, fellowship divine,
we feebly struggle, they in glory shine,
yet all are one in thee, for all are thine.
Alleluia!  Alleluia!


For all the saints,

Pastor John D. Morris, Senior Pastor