For All Saints' Sunday, I constructed a liturgy from The Book of Worship. It consisted of an invocation and then the reading of the names while the bell was chimed. I asked if there were any other saints to remember, and there were several. I then asked if anyone would like to speak about the impact that these saints made on their lives. We closed with a prayer, again directly lifted from The Book of Worship -- which I have found, as a student pastor, to be an incredibly useful book.Further thoughts from Beth Quick, Kim Matthews, Michelle Hargrave, and a prayer from Allan Bevere.
How did your church mark All Saints' Day/Sunday?
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For the two weeks prior to All Saints' Sunday, I run an insert in the bulletin asking people to submit names for the reading, and I add to the list the names of anyone from the church for whom I have officiated a funeral in the last year.
This year, I had the lay leader light a tea candle on the communion table for each name that was read. I called on the congregation to be sure to express thanks to those who were yet alive who had helped to shape their faith. I guess that was about it -not much feedback this year, but I know it is a meaningful service to many.
John, did you get any takers on the testimony? How did it go?
Our church cleverly combined committment Sunday and All Saints Sunday.
I was asked to lead the prayer at our contemporary service, so I tried to combined the looking back of All Saints and the looking forward of turnig in pledge cards.
We had a reading of names while candles were lit. Folks were invited to offer names on notecards during offeratory and those names were read, too.
With only about 20-30 in average attendance, I simply asked people who they would like remembered. I opened it up to not only members of this congregation that they would like remembered, but anyone in their lives that they would like remembered among the saints.
There were no takers on the testimony.
I also asked in advance for names that members of the congregation wanted to remember in addition to the 2 members who had passed away since November 1 of last year. We remembered all of our saints in prayer and we used the Great Thanksgiving for All Saints Day from the BOW during communion.
I'm mostly just disturbed by the apparent depiction of vampirism in that painting.
I hadn't thought of it like that, Allen, but yes, it does look like a vampire feeding.
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