{"id":72,"date":"2013-11-01T22:12:59","date_gmt":"2013-11-02T05:12:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gajunkie.info\/blog\/?p=72"},"modified":"2013-11-01T22:12:59","modified_gmt":"2013-11-02T05:12:59","slug":"feast-of-all-saints-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.gajunkie.com\/?p=72","title":{"rendered":"Feast Of All Saints 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nOur God, our help in ages past,
\nOur hope for years to come,
\nOur shelter from the stormy blast,
\nAnd our eternal home.
\n<\/b><\/i><\/div>\n

\nIt is once again November 1 – commemorated in some traditions as the Feast of All Saints or All Saints Day. I have traditionally observed this not as a day of religious obligation but a day of thanksgiving for the numerous Saints that I have known in my life that have guided me, influenced me, and helped me on my own spiritual journey. It is a day on which I particularly remember those who in the last year left the Church Militant and joined the Church Triumphant!<\/p>\n

\nUnder the shadow of thy throne
\nThy saints have dwelt secure;
\nSufficient is thine arm alone,
\nAnd our defence is sure.
\n<\/b><\/i><\/div>\n

\nBut for me and my family this year is very different.
\nWe remember not just the friends around us who are no longer with us, but we now remember parents who have gone to be with the Lord.<\/p>\n

\nBefore the hills in order stood,
\nOr earth received her frame,
\nFrom everlasting thou art God,
\nTo endless years the same.
\n<\/b><\/i><\/div>\n

\nTwo months ago my mother lost her near decade-long battle with cancer. There is much I have said about her and much more that I could say. For some of us we wonder “what is the next ministry we should be involved in?” She was faithful in one specific ministry for many years, volunteering once a week in her church’s pastoral care office and organizing the funeral and memorial services at her church. She was a model of, among many things, how an ordained officer of the church can continue serving even when not currently serving on that board. “Once a deacon, always a deacon.”<\/i> She had an impact on many people and the church honored her by dedicating the next issue of their church newsletter<\/a> to her.<\/p>\n

\nThy word commands our flesh to dust,
\n“Return, ye sons of men:”
\nAll nations rose from earth at first,
\nAnd turn to earth again.
\n<\/b><\/i><\/div>\n

\nWe also lost my wife’s father about ten months ago. I had commented on that at the time<\/a>, but today we remember not his quirkiness but his faithfulness. He and my mother-in-law were also fixtures at their church, teaching confirmation class for many, many years. He was a ruling elder and faithful in those duties as well. And he was one who was certainly “not ashamed of the Gospel” and would share it with anyone who would listen.<\/p>\n

A thousand ages in thy sight
\nAre like an evening gone;
\nShort as the watch that ends the night
\nBefore the rising sun.<\/p>\n

The busy tribes of flesh and blood,
\nWith all their lives and cares,
\nAre carried downwards by the flood,
\nAnd lost in following years.
<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n


\n<\/i><\/b>
\n
\nI also remember three other friends we lost this year:<\/p>\n

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