All Saints’ Day

For starters, Sunday is All Saints’ Day, one of the major feast days of the church calendar. It is the only major feast that does not focus on an event in the life of God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Instead, All Saints’ celebrates those whose lives and deaths gave, and continue to give, witness to the triune God in whom we find Holy Community. This holy community is sometimes called the communion of saints.

Baptism

On the same day we name those who have died, we welcome one whose life has just begun. Parker Rose Peters will be baptized into this Communion of Saints, this Holy Community we call the household of God.

That is no coincidence. The household of God stretches across generations, and death does not break the promise baptism makes. In baptism, we remember God’s claim on us, marked as Christ’s own forever, a claim that outlives death and the grave.

A parent or godparent once promised to support each of us in our life in Christ. The saints we name on Sunday are part of the long line of people who carried the faith from one generation to the next. Now it is our turn to make that promise for Parker Rose, and to help one another remember, in word and deed, that we belong to God and that we are beloved children of God.

Celebration Sunday

That promise is at the heart of our Growing Holy Community annual giving campaign, which concludes Sunday with Celebration Sunday. Our pledges are one of the ways we say “We will” and make good on that promise, together.

If you have not already done so, I hope you will return a pledge card by then. You can drop one in the plate on Sunday or fill one out digitally here. To date, we have received 39 pledge cards toward our goal of 135.

Thank you

As we anticipate Celebration Sunday, I want to thank everyone who helped put together a compelling and meaningful campaign. Leading the charge was our Stewardship Chair, Merry Michael Smith. Committee members included Caralyn McDaniel, Shannon George, Colleen McNorton, and Gregg Bennett. Additionally, The Rev. Emily Collette served as the staff contact and spiritual director for the group.

I am also grateful to our Stewardship Speakers, Eileen Dawson, Ellen Cutshall, Gregg Bennett, and Ann Brennan, who shared how their faith and giving are intertwined.

Thank you as well to those who sat down for a Q&A: Elizabeth Tanner, Katy Mac Dillion, and Callahan Thompson. Your honesty and willingness to share your stories helped all of us see what Holy Community looks like in practice. Thank you all for your faithful work.

Sunday

However you are able to take part, whether by naming someone you love, welcoming Parker Rose, or returning a pledge card, I hope you will be with us on Sunday. We will remember the saints who carried the faith to us, and we will promise, together, to carry it forward.