Roy’s Ramblings
This Sunday is All Saints Sunday. A celebration service of communion and remembrance of the saints that have gone on before us into eternity. We obviously remember the mighty acts of Jesus Christ through our receiving and taking the communion elements (in fact those very words are in the liturgy itself), we will read the names of the full members of our church as a bell is rung and candles are lit, and we will have opportunity to light individual candles in memory of loved ones past. It all seems beautiful, peaceful, and well with our souls.
But for those that are still going through the grieving process this coming Sunday may be a little bit harder to attend. I’m sure that we are all familiar with the five stages of grief for there are books, counseling sessions, support groups, apps, texts, emails and phone calls all centered around grief and processing it. But, if you aren’t familiar with those stages they are: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Now don’t think that these are a check list, or that they are perfectly linear and once you have moved to the next category you can’t go back to a previous one. Grief is messy, hard, and for some a very long process. Grief is also necessary for all of us to process loss in our lives.
So I say all of that to say this: We are all in this together!!! That is what family does, especially church family. We come together to work things out, to love on each other, to process together, to talk and to listen, to sit in silence and just hold on to each other, all in the grace, love, and spirit of God. So through the reading of names, the lighting of candles, the ringing of bells and even the tears shed over loved ones past … let us remember and love.
I pray Blessings For Us All – Pastor Roy
PS: Don’t forget to set your clocks back an hour Saturday night or you will be really early to church on Sunday.
