Copyright Norfolk Virginian-Pilot
In my Christian tradition, today is the Feast of All Saints, when we give thanks for what one prayer calls the “great cloud of witnesses” who have gone before us. At St. Martin’s just before sunset, we’ll be reading the names of those who have died since last All Saints’ Day while ringing our bell for the first time in more than a year. In 1967, not long after our founding, the bell was a gift from Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Norge. We’ll be rededicating the tower built for it, and our memorial garden, after a long project of significant repair and restoration. Today’s feast, and tomorrow’s Feast of All Souls, are when we remember our shared Saints (big s), the holy women and men whose lives inspire us, and our personal saints (small s), beloved family members and friends who have died. Both have been eclipsed in popular culture by Halloween, originally “All Hallows’ Eve,” the evening before what was also called the Feast of All Hallows. To “hallow” means to make holy, as when Christians pray “hallowed be thy name” in the Lord’s Prayer. These Christian feasts coincide with an ancient turning point of the year, when the veil between the worlds was thought to be thin. So it’s a fitting time to feel our connection to the wider communion of saints, what our catechism defines as “the whole family of God, the living and the dead, those whom we love and those whom we hurt.” The hurting has been much in evidence lately, as a government shutdown entering its second month creates hardship and uncertainty for thousands of our neighbors. I’m grateful for the just-announced Virginia Emergency Nutrition Assistance for those whose SNAP benefits would otherwise expire today, and the United Way’s community-wide emergency food drive and fund supporting local food pantries (bit.ly/FoodDriveDonationBinSignUp). But as I wrote in this column back in July, I’m also concerned about the neighbors who will lose affordable health insurance and Medicaid benefits if the government restarts without ensuring their coverage. And so yesterday on my way to church, I called my congressman’s local office. It had been a while, I admitted to the aide who answered the phone, because I’ve been feeling discouraged and helpless, not sure what difference I could make in an impasse that feels so intractable. But I needed to let him know that I believe our government should be providing for our most vulnerable neighbors, not making them choose between going to the grocery store, doctor or pharmacy. Yes, religious organizations and nonprofits will step up as we always do, but we need our elected officials to work together to protect and serve our fellow citizens. I told him that as an American, I’m ashamed that with so many struggling in our country and around the world, we’re spending millions on building an extravagant ballroom and blasting Venezuelan boats out of the water, while the president of the United States says, “we’re just gonna kill people.” And then, as often happens when I make these calls, I choked up. Tears are a signal that something is deeply important to us. In this case for me, it’s our divided country, about to celebrate its 250th anniversary in the shadow of unprecedented challenges. Like St. Martin’s Bell Tower, our nation needs repair and restoration, shoring up of its solid foundations, careful removal of what has deteriorated, and sturdy support to ring in a brighter future. With the writer Michelle Alexander, I firmly believe that “a new nation is struggling to be born, a multiracial, multiethnic, multifaith, egalitarian democracy in which every life and every voice truly matters.” But it’s a difficult and dangerous labor, and people are suffering. So I return to the promise of today’s feast, and the communion of saints. Can we somehow see each other, across all those dividing lines, as fellow members of God’s family? Can we recognize how much we need each other — all of us? Can we show up and stand up for each other, feel connected to those who disagree with us, love even those we may be tempted to think of enemies? One of our prayers for All Saints’ Day says that God has knit us together in one communion and fellowship, and another promises that those who have gone before us are cheering us on as we “run with endurance the race that is set before us.” Especially now, as that woven fabric feels like it’s fraying more than ever, and the race feels like a marathon, it’s vital to be in solidarity with our fellow humans of all religions, races, genders and political convictions. It’s vital to participate in our civic life, to work for the common good, and with all of our love, faith, courage and hope, to VOTE. It’s also important to come together as God’s family to give thanks for our blessings, particularly the blessings of religious diversity in our community and the freedom that makes it possible. So I’m looking forward as I do each November to the Multifaith Thanksgiving Service sponsored by HART, Historic Area Religions Together. This year’s event is Sunday, Nov. 23 at 7 p.m. at Walsingham Academy. I hope to see you there! The Rev. Lisa Green is rector at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church.
