Joel's Jottings: "We Are All Saints"

The stained-glass window at the front of Fondren Presbyterian’s sanctuary.

Halloween is a HUGE holiday! There are costumes and parties and candy and gadgets. At Fondren we celebrate with a Trunk or Treat event in our parking lot. It is a HUGE event for so many people. Yet so often, church folk forget, or may not even realize, Halloween is not the real day to celebrate. Rather, Halloween is All Hallow’s Eve—the day before the main event, All Saints’ Day. We will observe All Saints’ Day on Sunday, November 6, as part of our worship service.

Early in the practice of the Christian faith, Christians developed the practice of remembering the faithful who had died. In those early years, a good number of believers were in fact killed in persecutions. Remembering these martyrs was an important act for fellow Christians. Over time an elaborate system of beliefs became associated with the lives of saints. Beginning in the 800s, All Saints’ Day was observed on November 1. The day before—October 31 or All Hallow’s Eve—developed as part of that recognition.

During the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s, many of these beliefs were challenged. Saints are not thought of only as people who do special or mystical things. Rather, all followers of Jesus are “saints.” It is a time to remember the wonder of life and the special gift that we have been given. As part of our remembrance, we name those who have died in the previous year on the first Sunday of November.

In a typical year, this naming has been limited to church members who had died. However, this is not a typical year. We are not living in typical times. I invite you to share the names of family or friends who have died since 2020. Their names will be included in the Litany of Remembrance that we will share in worship this Sunday, November 6.

Please contribute the names of those you wish to be shared, along with the date of their death, by sending them to office@fondrenpcusa.org or calling the church office at (601) 982-3232.