Who Thee by faith before the world confessed,
Thy Name, O Jesus, be forever blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress and their Might;
Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well fought fight;
Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
As is my custom on this day to remember All Saints, or the Dia de los Muertos for some of my friends, I pause to give thanks for those I have known who have joined the Church Triumphant in the past twelve months.
So, I give thanks to God for
- Lyle – who was always upbeat and quick with a joke, but even more he was also a faithful husband and maybe more than anyone else I know modeled what the marriage covenant looks like “in sickness and in health.”
- Helen – who did so many things for the church, both particular and universal.
- Carol – a faithful worker for the church and another role model for marriage with her nearly 70 years married to Bill
- Betty – she loved Christian Education and would give of her time generously to help others with information or answer questions.
- Erma – another tireless worker who in retirement helped many people through a local food pantry
- Alene – despite her troubles she still maintained a pleasant greeting for everyone, a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye that was second to none.
This year I also lost a good friend that many in the PC(USA) would know by name, the Rev. Bill Hopper. I expressed my appreciation for his encouragement and witness when he passed away almost a year ago but I include him in my thoughts today.
I want to also express thanks for the life of Deborah Bruce who worked in Research Services for the PC(USA). While I knew her more through her writings than personally, the conversations I had with her were always interesting, encouraging and stimulating. I give thanks to God for her ministry and you can check out the PC(USA) news article for more about her faithful work. It was a very nice and fitting tribute to her to dedicate the recently released Comparative Statistics to her (you will find it at the very end of the document).
For all these saints, and the saints in your lives who have recently gone to be with the Lord, I give thanks. We will miss their presence but we cherish their memory and rejoice in the work they completed and left for us to continue doing.
Soon, soon to faithful warriors comes their rest;
Sweet is the calm of paradise the blessed.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
But lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day;
The saints triumphant rise in bright array;
The King of glory passes on His way.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast,
Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,
Alleluia, Alleluia!