We’ve made it! We have arrived at the celebration of all the Saints of Grace Church – past, present and future! On Saturday November 1st, we are celebrating the mighty and powerful work of our God in raising up a people for Himself, here in this place – Grace Episcopal Church. Yes, we are having a mighty celebration but more importantly – we are honoring the work of our beautiful Savior in making Himself present and meeting the needs of generations of believers for the last 150 years!
So, what are we doing, church? Who are the saints? What is this All Saints’ Day truly about? First and foremost, it is about what every Sunday gathering and every feast of the church is about: Proclaiming that Christ is risen from the dead! We look to the examples of the faith — those from ages past and those who formed us to be who we are — and remember that in the Christian story, Jesus’ death has defeated death itself.
When we are baptized, we are baptized into the same body as Matthew and Mark, Mother Theresa, and Desmond Tutu. Together we remember that death is not the end. Coming through the watery grave of the baptismal font, we are joined to Jesus’ resurrection and new life, together with those we know who’ve died before us, and through whose lives, we learned how to follow Jesus.
For us, Saturday is the celebration of generations of Saints who prayed for us, and before us – that God would bless, grow, and raise up future generations of followers of Jesus. Thus, we are the answer to their prayers. In turn, we also pray for the future generations of followers of Jesus to come – blessed through Grace Church. And together throughout all these generations – past, present and future – we share a deep, abiding, and permanent Communion of Saints in the love of Christ.
“Therefore since we have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance, the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfector of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12: 1-2
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