All Saints’ Day is a celebration of all Christian saints, particularly those who have no special feast days of their own, in many Roman Catholic, Anglican and Protestant churches. In many western churches it is annually held November 1 and in many eastern churches it is celebrated on the first Sunday after Pentecost.(From timeanddate.com)
I am grateful for all those who have inspired me to be the person I am who now are among the company of saints. On a day like this it is good to remember those people who sacrificed and gave their lives in the service of their creator and for people from all walks of life. God bless them for they are Holy and worthy.
The following post is one of those posts about my faith I do every once and awhile. I hope you who are not of the same faith persuasion will bear with me for a few moments. Thanks for our universal connections.
At my baptism as an 11 year old Baptist kid I was immersed by the Rev. Monty Jordan. That was an experience I will never forget. For the last sixteen years as a United Methodist and in the last year as an Episcopalian I have seen this sacrament expressed as sprinkling, pouring and immersion. There is one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism from a Christian perspective. As far as I am concerned the amount of water needed isn’t what is important. Once you are baptized its a thing between you and God and it should stick with you and be honored in your faith journey. Something universal, something timeless, something that brings you into communion with Christ. Today I saw a baptism of a little one at church and it reminded me that being cleansed, is a spiritual act that takes you into eternity.
Working on the church website has been a fun exercise in learning new stuff. I am hoping it tells the story of St. Peter’s Episcopal. When they say content is king they aren’t kidding. When you are doing such a thing you have to pull information from various places and ministries of the parish. We are using a system from Digital Faith which has provided a good CMS among other tools. It is almost like a portal too. I am not a stranger to this sort of thing because it’s the third church I have done websites for. This is a task that is being done with a team of others who are making a great contribution as well. Check it out at http://stpeters.org
I heard Phil Madeira at the Episcopal Churchmen of Tennessee conference this past weekend. Madeira has worked with a lot of great musicians in the Nashville Area. He is a fellow Episcopalian too which make this even cooler. He has a edgy, classic sound that speaks to the soul. Check him out.
Tonight my church gathered to remember and to pray for those who were lost in Saturday’s mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub. In the service our priest said that prayers are being heard and God is with those who are suffering. I have a problem with the thoughts and prayers platitude some say but you know after his homily we can’t discount the power of prayer, because it can do a lot of good if we have the patience. In the context of those who perished their families and friends will need lots of prayer for comfort. For those who are injured they will need prayer to help them recover. In both cases there is a lot of healing and understanding that will be done in the foreseeable future.
I am glad to be a part of a parish that cares about those who they don’t even know and answers the call to keep others in their minds as they suffer.