Colourful Dreamer

On Sunday at St. Georges we join the ancient celebrations of All Saints and All Souls. We will join with Christians around the world who have or will light candles and remember those who have died over the last year or two. These are days that allow us to celebrate both the great saints and those we have known and loved and who, for better or for worse, have helped shape who we are. We give thanks for their lives and acknowledge our grief at their passing. It is a moment to be still, to know our loss, and to give thanks. As we do this, we take another step in letting them go trusting that they now rest in God, as they have always. Our gospel reading from Luke 6 is a wonderful restating of God’s faithfulness both to the covenant with Israel, and through that to the promises of restoration and the wholeness of creation – shalom; already acclaimed by Mary in her song in Luke 2, and by Jesus while reading of the scroll in Luke 4. After being on the mountain choosing his new apostles, Je...

Life is not a straight line from childhood to adulthood. Life has bumps and curves; obstacles and detours; desert times and tsunamis; celebrations and sorrows. Life can go from glorious to calamitous in just a moment. How do Christian saints navigate the complexities of life? William W. How wrote the hymn we always sing on this day: For all the Saints. He served in the Church of England in the 1800s, and became known as the "poor man's bishop" and "the children's bishop," for his work among the destitute in the London slums and the factory workers in west Yorkshire. He describes all that God can be for a faithful person in vs 2;  Thou wast their rock, their refuge, and their might,  Thou, Christ, the hope that put their fears to flight;  ’mid gloom and doubt, their true and shining light. Alleluia, alleluia! Today we remember the saints who have been part of our lives and say, “Alleluia, alleluia!"  You can listen to her sermon here

Today we gather with Christians all around the world who will light candles and remember loved ones who have died over the last year. We do this because November 1st has for at least 12 centuries been All Saints Day. This is the day Christians have remembered all those who firstly died as martyrs, and then all those great people of faith (saints) who the rest of us look up to and are inspired by. From the twelfth or thirteenth centuries All Souls Day was held on November 2 to remember ALL people of faith, especially those we grieve. Today we remember all those who have gone before us, who have paved the way for us, and especially those we have loved and who loved us, and those who inspire us. As we honour their memory and give thanks for the ways they have blessed us over our lifetimes, we take another step in letting them go, trusting that they now rest in God, as they have always. This year All Souls is particularly poignant. For many 2020 has been a hard year. Life as we knew it...