The festival of All Saints, November 1, this year falls on Sunday. The “Eve” (all major festivals have an “Eve” – eg. Christmas Eve) of All Saints (otherwise known as All Hallows) is on Saturday. Hallows Eve is generally abbreviated to Halloween.
Let us pray (in silence) [as we rejoice and keep festival in honour of all the saints]
pause
Almighty God,
your saints are one with you
in the mystical body of Christ:
give us grace to follow them
in all virtue and holiness
until we come to those inexpressible joys
which you have prepared for those
who truly love you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who is alive with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God now and for ever.
Amen.
A reflection on this may be found at All Saints
PRAYER OF REMEMBRANCE
By Bruce Prewer
Uniting Church of Australia
Living God, in whom there is no shadow or change, we thank you for the gift of life eternal, and for all those who having served you well, now rest from their labours.
We thank you for all the saints remembered and forgotten, for those dear souls most precious to us. Today we give thanks for those who during the last twelve months have died and entered into glory.
We bless you for their life and love, and rejoice for them “all is well, and all manner of things will be well.”
God of Jesus and our God, mindful of all those choice souls who have gone on ahead of us, teach us, and each twenty-first century disciple of every race and place,
* to follow their example to the best of our ability:
* to feed the poor in body or spirit,
* to support and comfort the mourners and the repentant,
* to encourage the meek and stand with them in crises,
* to affirm those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
* to cherish and learn from the merciful,
* to be humbled by, and stand with, the peacemakers.
Let us clearly recognize what it means to be called the children of God, and to know we are to be your saints neither by our own inclination nor in our own strength but simply by the call and the healing holiness of Christ Jesus our Saviour.
Amen!
thank you for this post! I will have a post soon in which I will repost the Bishop of Virginia (Shannon Johnston) praising Halloween back before he became bishop…
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