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Pastor's Page |
J. STEVEN MINDRUP, INTERIM PASTOR - Phone 815-988-4992 - Email:
From Pastor Steve …
All Saints Day, Sunday November 6
On Sunday, November 6 we will honor and remember those of our church family who have gone before us.
In our prayers and during Holy Communion we will lift up the names of Salem members who have died since last November, and who now rest in peace with Christ forever.
All Saints Day is traditionally observed on November 1 — in England it used to be called “All Hallows Day”. So October 31 was “All Hallows Eve” or “Hallowe’en.”
We, like many churches, move the All Saints celebration to the first Sunday in November.
All Saints Day began as a day to remember the martyrs — those who had died as a result of their witness to Christ. Because there were too many of them to be named, Christians developed a common celebration of all martyrs as early as the fifth century AD.
All Saints has evolved into a celebration of all of those who Christ has claimed in baptism, who have been fed at his table, and who have been joined to his body, the Church
A “saint” does not have to be a Mother Teresa or a Peter or Paul. A “saint” is anyone whose manner of life reflects faith in God and who claims salvation through Christ.
On All Saints Day we remember that we become holy — sanctified — not by our own puny efforts but by the grace of God in his Son.
Grace alone, which God supplies; strength unknown he will provide.
Christ in us, our Cornerstone; we will go forth in grace alone! (Scott Brown, Jeff Nelson)
- Steve Mindrup
