Sunday, we will observe All Saints’ Day where we will honor our church members and friends who have entered Heaven since last year’s All Saints’ Sunday. This year we will celebrate the lives of Philip Randolph Gorham, Genevieve Stokes, Elizabeth Anne Apple Whitfield, Robert D. Morris, III, Jennifer Teachey Tate, and Sandra Del Gregory. This service serves as both remembrance and calling for us to follow the path of faith of those who have modeled faithful living.
All Saints’ Day is November 1 and the event can be traced back to the fifth century as a feast day (celebration and remembrance) in Syria for all known and unknown martyrs. First mention of “All Saints” is in May of 609, but moved to November 1 in 835 following a dedication of a chapel at St. Peter’s in Rome.
Throughout history, the day emphasizes the presence of holy men and women in the church and presents them as examples of faithful and joy-filled service for the living members of the church to emulate their journey. November 2 has been known as All Souls’ Day and is a day Christians pray for the dead and remember their loved ones. Often these two days historic events are combined where we remember those who have died from the Church universal and our local congregations and others in our lives. From: The New Westminster Dictionary of Liturgy and Worship, Paul Bradshaw, ed, & Brett Mitchell-Webb and Diane Archer’s Sacred Season: A Journey through the Christian Year.
