Give thanks for those whose lives shone with a light
caught from the Christ-flame, gleaming through the night,
who touched the truth, who burned for what is right:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
As is my custom every November first, I take time to remember those in my life who have transferred their membership from the Church Militant to the Church Triumphant in the past year. It is always humbling to remember the faithful saints who have gone on before and give praise to God for their lives and thanks for the role they have played in my life.
This year I remember these saints in glory:
- Dorothy – a long-time faithful member of our church who had a cheerful disposition in the midst of her earthly trials. Her children remembered her and her husband saying “He taught us love. She taught us generosity. “
- Maureen – a hard worker for the Lord who demonstrated on a daily basis that you can serve God by doing a job well. As one who handled our church records, it was said of her that she was more meticulous with our session minutes than with her own check book.
- Carmen – a pastor’s wife and servant in her own right, serving God, church and family through the many ups and downs of life
- Peggy – the quiet servant who you could always find helping out, particularly if you looked for those behind the scenes.
- Mores – a Presbyterian’s Presbyterian, part of a rich Presbyterian family tradition. He may have the distinction of being the only Ruling Elder Commissioner to two of the PCUSA’s watershed General Assemblies: 1958 for the merger of the UPCNA with the PCUSA, and 1967 which was, well, 1967
- Maggie – a saint who poured so much time into VBS that it was not the same without her
- Margaret – a woman with an incredible life story (such as sailing to Honduras during WWII with German U-boats patrolling the Caribbean) and many challenges at the end of her life, who still loved to come to worship on the Lord’s Day despite her physical challenges.
- Jack – a saint who loved to sing the Lord’s praises and who put a high value on his family
- Linda – a saint who had more struggles than anyone could know, but worked to overcome those she could control
- Daniel – a talented and respected doctor who also knew the place of church and family
- Betty – a faithful worker in the church as well as a partner in ministry to her pastor husband
- Eric – a friend who understood the Gospel and with whom I had many stimulating theological discussions
- Holly – a valued, dedicated, and hardworking member of Presbytery and talented Christian Educator
- Gene – a friend whose life was far too short. We remembered him as one who was always smiling when he came up to greet you and almost never said no when you asked for help.
I give thanks for the lives of each of these friends and trust their souls to God’s grace and mercy.
In closing, I want to share a story from the recent Pittsburgh synagogue shooting. From having attended Sabbath services with friends of mine I am familiar with this tradition and the story is appropriate to the act of remembrance on All Saints Day. I heard it first on the radio, and I will paraphrase from that but also saw it documented in more detail in a paywalled article on Haaretz.
A part of at least some Jewish Sabbath liturgies is near the end of the service to say the mourners’ prayer, the Kaddish. It was the custom of one of the Pittsburgh victims, Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz, to stand for it at every service, even though traditionally only those who are observing a time of mourning during that service would stand. When asked about this he would reply that he had no children who would one day stand up for him, so he stood for those who had no one else to stand for them.
At his service on Sunday all those present, more than 300 attendees, stood for the Kaddish.