All Saints Day: A Message for the Kids
Hello Friends,
Today, I want to share with you about a special day that we celebrate in the church. This day is known as All Saints Day, and it takes place on November 1st every year. It is not nearly as well known as the day before, All Hallows’ (Saints’) Eve, better known as Halloween, but is far more important in the life of the church. Our founder, John Wesley, even found All Saints Day to be very important.
In a journal entry from November 1, 1767, Wesley calls it “a festival I truly love.” On the same day in 1788, he writes, “I always find this a comfortable day.” The following year he calls it “a day that I peculiarly love.” And, why not love a day that celebrates the lives of children of God? On All Saints Day, we remember children of God who have passed on. In many of our congregations we light candles, ring bells of remembrance, and call the saints lost in the last year by name. We celebrate the impact their lives made on our lives. For people who recently lost a loved one, this can be comforting or painful. Together we celebrate and honor the many people who have passed on but still help us smile, laugh, shine brightly, and help build our faith each and every day.
Some people of God are widely known because of their strong faith. Most of us have heard of Paul the Apostle, Mother Teresa, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Can you think of some others? Many times, Christians put the word saint before the name of someone that has demonstrated great faith. Saint Paul, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Nicholas, and Saint Patrick. Many churches even have Saint in their name, such as St. John or St. Mark. Giving someone the title saint means that person has demonstrated a lifelong following of Jesus with his/her actions.
You don’t have to be well known to be a saint. You too are called to be a saint. Today, we celebrate all the saints, those who are widely known and those who aren’t. The saints in your life could be in your family, in your neighborhoods, in your schools, or in this church. There are saints, those that demonstrate God’s holiness and love all around us. Who are the saints in your life? Let’s celebrate all of them today.
Let Us Pray: Dear God, thank you for the saints in our life. Thank you for their love, their sacrifices, their meekness, their righteousness, their mercifulness, their peace and understanding, and their pure in heart. May we walk humbly in their example of faith, dedication, service, and love; and may we live out their legacy and story each day of our life. O God, let their perpetual light shine brightly upon our path as we remember them, honor them, celebrate them, keep them, and love them in our heart. We have hope that one day we will walk hand-in-hand with them once again. Let their light shine within us. To your honor and glory, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Your Friend, Holy Spirit
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