All Saints' Sunday

All Saints' Day (also called All Hallows) is the day Christian's give thanks for all the good people God has placed in their lives who have been a witness and encouragement to them. Hallow is a word not typically used in our society today.  The only time we use "hallow" is in the Lord's Prayer describing God.  Hallow is usually used as a verb, meaning "to make holy or sacred, to sanctify or consecrate, to venerate. The adjective form hallowed, as used in The Lord's Prayer, means holy, consecrated, sacred, or revered.

The custom of commemorating on a single day all those who have previously gone to be with the Lord goes back at least to the third century. All Saints' Day (Nov. 1) is also a day when Christians give thanks for the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

It is not because people are special in and of themselves that we call them saints, but it is because they are ordinary, everyday people who allow the Holy Spirit to work through them, doing the mighty deeds of the Lord that have affected our lives.

Martin Luther writes, "the Holy Scriptures call Christians saints and the people of God. To forget that we are saints is to forget Christ and to forget our baptism."

All Saints is a day for remembering and giving thanks, as Christians remember the good people they have known and give thanks for the unending goodness of God.

This year on November 2nd we will be celebrating All Saints Sunday at St. Paul's.  During communion you will be asked to fill out a card and bring it forward.  On this card you will be invited to write down the names of people who have had a significant spiritual impact in your life who have since gone to be with the Lord.  God has and will continue to use people filled with His spirit to challenge and encourage each other.  Who has been a witness of God to you?  Who has encouraged you in your faith?  Let's take time to thank God for those He brought into our lives that have helped our relationship with the Lord.

See You In Worship!

Pastor John