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Remembering and Celebrating Our Saints on All Saints Sunday
All Saints Sunday is a special time in the life of the church when we pause to remember and celebrate the faithful people who have gone before us. It is a day to give thanks for the saints whose lives reflected God’s love, whose faith inspired others, and whose witness continues to shape our journey as followers of Christ.
When we hear the word saint, we may think of extraordinary people whose names are remembered throughout Christian history. Yet Scripture reminds us that sainthood is not limited to a select few. All who belong to Christ are called to live as God’s people, sharing His love, serving others, and growing in faith. Saints are not perfect people; they are ordinary people who seek to follow an extraordinary God. (See the hymn text for our closing hymn this sunday below.)
On All Saints Sunday, we remember family members, friends, church members, and loved ones who have passed away. We give thanks for their prayers, their kindness, their wisdom, and the ways they touched our lives. Their stories remind us that faith is often passed from one generation to the next through simple acts of love, steadfast service, and faithful living. We remember all our Northminster saints and especially those whom we lost during the previous year: Mary Sandow, Kay Southern, Rodney Thomas, Marianne Wilcox, Howard Bretlinger, Ingrid Gray, Doujglas Salter, and Conrad Rispoli.
As we light candles, speak names, or offer prayers of remembrance, we acknowledge both our grief and our gratitude. We miss those who are no longer physically with us, yet we rejoice in the hope we have through Jesus Christ. Death does not have the final word; God’s promise of eternal life gives us comfort and strength.
All Saints Sunday also invites us to consider our own calling. How can we reflect Christ’s love in our homes, our church, and our community? What legacy of faith are we building for those who will come after us?
May this holy day renew our gratitude for the saints who have shaped our lives and inspire us to live faithfully today. Together, we celebrate the communion of saints and give thanks for God’s enduring grace, which connects us across generations and holds us all in love.
I Sing a Song of the Saints of God
(a song for children on All Saints Day, written by Lesbia Scott in 1929)
I sing a song of the saints of God, faithful their whole lives through, who bravely labored, lived and died for the God they loved and knew. And one was a doctor, and one was a queen, and another a shepherd in pastures green: they were saints of God, if you know what I mean. God, help me to be one, too. They loved their God and they lived that love. It was loving that made them strong. They did what was right, for Jesus' sake, lived justly their whole lives long. And one was prophet, and one was a priest, and another was slain by a fierce wild beast: there is no earthly reason, none in the least, why I shouldn't be one, too. They lived not only in ages past, there are hundreds of thousands still. The world is filled with living saints who choose to do God's will. You can meet them in school, on the road, or at sea, in a church, in a train, in a shop, or at tea: for the saints are folk like you and like me, an I meant to be one, too.
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