Month: October 2021

All Saints’ Sunday-Special Edition for when you are remembering a loved one who has died this year.

Leave a Comment

I have long loved the celebration of the saints in our churches. It is a Sunday when we remember that we are not the first and we will not be the last in this lineage of believers. This year I am wondering how to celebrate and honor this day when one of the saints who joined the church triumphant this year was my mother. All of the rituals I have done in the past years do not feel like enough to remember the one who carried me inside her for nine months and then carried me in her arms and held me in her heart from before my first breath until her last breath. How do I honor her memory on this day? As I reflected on this question, I was reminded that each of the saints I have honored over the years was someone’s beloved family member or friend or neighbor or parent or grandparent or sibling. The beauty of this day is we take time to remember and give thanks for lives lived as God’s beloved children. My mother would not want a big fanfare today (nor any day as fanfares were not her thing). So today, I will do as I do each time this holy day comes, I will light candles and remember those I love who are no longer here on earth. I will remember and give thanks.

Here is the prayer I will use as I name them today. Holy One, you know us by name and you call us your children. Today on this All Saints’ Day we remember and give thanks for __________ (name them by name and light a candle for your loved ones). We miss them. And they live on in us. We remember the lessons they taught us. We give thanks for hugs and meals shared. We know their love for you which we heard in their words and saw in their actions. We can see them cheering us on when we succeed and crying with us when the way is hard. We know they are with you. We know that for each of them pain and sorrow have ceased and they are at peace. Gracious God, be with us in whatever emotions this day brings. Today, we give thanks and we remember all of the saints who from their labors rest. As the saints lived in faith, we too will continue to follow you, Good Shepherd. Lead on. Amen.

My sister, my mother, and I on January 31, 2021.

A Prayer for Fall

Leave a Comment

As we are midway through the month of October, it is the season of Fall in the Northern Hemisphere. Some days here it feels more like summer and other days those fall temperatures make me realize the cooler months are here. However you enjoy celebrating or observing this time of year, I hope you find meaning in this prayer for fall.

God of All Seasons, It is Fall. We see more pumpkins on porches and pumpkin flavored items are available everywhere. The temperatures may be changing as may our clothing choices. We may be gathering around fire pits with friends. Or, we may not have even had time to notice the change in season.

God of All Creation, help us to gain inspiration from nature this fall. Like the trees, help us to let go of that which is no longer life giving or helping us to grow. Like the grass, remind us it is okay to rest and renew for a season before coming back alive and well next year. Like the migrating birds, send us on journeys to familiar places where we can be safe until it is time to return home. Like the animals preparing for hibernation, give us good food to nourish us and some extra rest in the coming days. Like the squirrels scurrying around to collect nuts, may we gather only what we need so our needs are met and there is enough for others.

As we watch the leaves fall and feel the temperatures cool, let this be a time of possibility for what this season can be if we trust in you, Holy One. Amen.