All Saints Day is celebrated the first Sunday in November and it is a day for remembering and giving thanks to God for both saints and sinners. It is special day set aside to give thanks to God for giving us people who have touched our family, community and world.
It is believed that the custom of commemorating all the departed souls goes back at least to the third century. All Saints' Day is closely tied with 'All Souls' Day.' This celebration quickly spread within the Christian church. All Saints' Day celebrates not only the martyrs and saints, but we give thanks for all the people of God.
All Saints Day is celebrated by many faith groups: Roman Catholics, Orthodox, Anglicans, and Lutherans to mention a few. However, because of our different understandings of the day, the way our churches celebrate the 'Feast of All Saints' may differ greatly. I encourage you continue the ritual which your church celebrates on this day.
On All Saints Day, my Church gathers to celebrate the lives of all those who touched our lives in a very special way. We remember men and women of every race and nation, both dead and alive. Thinking of all the people whose goodness has touched us and enriched our lives by their presence, we praise and thank God for these individuals.
Within my faith community, we recall names and faces of those we loved and now are asleep in the Lord. We remember the saints and give the glory to God. We spend the day in quiet reflection, remembering both the dead and living, and thanking God for them.
On the first Sunday in November, the songs, lessons and readings reflect around the term "saints and sinners", the bottom line being that we are all both a saints and a sinners at the same time. We are all called saints within God's realm, but we fully know we are also sinners.
In my faith ritual, the day is observed by inviting families who have experienced a death of a loved one to take part in the worship service. We read the names of those who have died from our church family. Families have the opportunity to come forward and light a candle/place a flower on the altar in memory of their loved ones. We give God the glory for all the saints.
Rituals have a way of helping us to remember our loved ones. When words fail us, we often have turned to rituals as a way to express our compassion. It is indeed blessed to recall on this day those people that were a blessing in our lives. Whatever your rituals may be, honour them and celebrate them.
"The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future........." - Unknown source
Margaret Anne Yost nursed for 35 years. I completed two units of Clinical Pastoral Education at the Regina General Hospital. Returning back to school I completed classes from the Red River College in the areas of Gerontology, Bereavement, Death and Dying. For twelve years I worked in bereavement support at a funeral home.
At present I am employed as an Interim Parish Worker at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Melville Sask. I also enjoy my role as homemaker and full time grandmother.
