All Saints?

1 Corinthians 1:2

To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:

Saints? In the Reformed Tradition?

Yep!

All those who are “sanctified by Christ Jesus” are who we identify as saints in our Reformed theology. It comes right from scripture! In pop-Christianity, saints are people like Mother Teresa (who will soon be canonized by the Catholic Church) or “Saint Paul” — those who have done extraordinary feats of self-sacrifice, performed miracles, or who have lived lives set apart in holiness.

But for Presbyterians, our churches are filled with saints. Big saints, little saints, holy saints and even some wayward saints: all of us called to live our our faith in Christ Jesus.

It is only fitting then, that we reclaim the idea of “All Saints Day, ” where the lives of our saints are celebrated and remembered. This year has been difficult for us at CEH, as we have seen many of our saints experience the fullness of their life through their bodily death. We suffer when our saints die — because we don’t understand what that “fullness of life” can even be like. And we grieve; we feel the loss of their vibrant lives here.

So during our Service Station on Sunday morning, we will be celebrating the lives of our Saints who have died in the faith — Saint Michael, Saint Keith, Saint Connie, Saint Jean, and others. We will also take time to remember those who have influenced your faith journey — living or dead — and celebrate the ways they invested in your understanding of God.

Please come check out the Service Station at 9:00 on Sunday morning, and bring with you pictures and stories about the saints in your life. I am looking forward to sharing these stories and celebrating these lives together!

In Sure and Certain Hope,

Rev. Paula