In the ancient Church, a major annual festival was All Hallows or All Saints’ Day. God’s people in the earthly realm celebrated the lives of their brothers and sisters who had moved to the heavenly part of God’s kingdom. The date was and still is November 1st.
The day before All Saints’ Day, a day not nearly so significant, came to be called All Hallows Eve. As the years went by, the “eve” of All Saints’ came to be a secular event which captivated people’s imaginations and led to profitable merchandising and party-going. You and I call that day Halloween which has grown to be second only to Christmas in holiday retail sales.
About thirty or forty years ago, United Methodists began to mark All Saints but to do so on the first Sunday in November. As it usually is with United Methodist worship, we are free to observe All Saints’ in whatever fashion seems best. But a nearly-universal practice, and something we do each year at First UMC, is to read aloud the names of church members who have died since the last All Saints.
So on November 4th, we will gather together both to celebrate the saints and to remember them in a solemn calling of the roll of the departed. It should prove to be a significant time of worship.