Global Christian Worship

All Saints Day is November 1.

“To be a saint is to live not with hands clenched to grasp, to strike, to hold tight to a life that is always slipping away the more tightly we hold it; but it is to live with the hands stretched out both to give and to receive with gladness. To be a saint is to work and weep for the broken and suffering of the world, but it is also to be strangely light of heart in the knowledge that there is something greater than the world that mends and renews.”

— Frederick Buechner

This quote is from Frederick Buechner’s classic book of sermons, “The Magnificent Defeat.”

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My friend and favorite liturgist, Fran Pratt, has written a lovely litany for All Saints Day, which she published online (with a short introduction) at
http://www.franpratt.com/litanies/2016/10/27/litany-for-all-saints-day

All Saints Day, in which the global church honors those saints who have passed on, both known and unknown, both famous and obscure; is celebrated by Methodist, Lutheran, Anglican, and Roman Catholic traditions on November 1. Here is a litany for that day.

God, we remember those Saints who have gone before us;
We lament their passing,
And honor their legacy.
We give thanks for all we have learned from them.

Those who followed the Way of Christ faithfully,
We follow their example.
Those who made mistakes along the way,
We learn from their experience.
Those who made progress for peace,
We continue their work.
Those who lived simply and quietly,
We are enlightened by them.
Those who gained honor and distinction without pride,
We are humbled by them.
Those who were martyred for their faith,
We commend them to your care.

They have finished their work on earth,
And it lives on,
Reverberating into our lives now
As the work of Christ lives on.

May the peace of Christ continue to inspire us
To good works, humility, simplicity and peacemaking,
As those foremothers and forefathers were inspired by him
To live in grace and love.

Amen

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The painting below is ‘The Communion of Saints’ by Elizabeth Wang who died on 10^th September. 2016.
http://www.radiantlight.org.uk/