Pastor’s Corner: All Saints 2020

September 23, 2020

We are only a month away from one of the most moving services of our year: the recognition of All Saints, which we observe on the last Sunday in October. Each year my eyes tear up to remember the precious souls who have gone from us to God and also to witness the love of our church members for these departed saints. The increasing glow of the candles across the front of our sanctuary fills me with sorrow and with hope.

This year we find we have to do things differently – again.

Although the illness rates are falling once more on our island, community transmission of COVID-19 remains too risky for us to assemble that number of people at this time. It might be safe on October 25^th, but we cannot know that for certain. The Board of Deacons and I have concluded that we should plan for an online-only observance.

Some things will stay the same. We will read the names of those who have died in the last year. We will ring the church bell. We will light a candle.

We will not, I regret to say, be able to invite families to be here, and we will not be able to enjoy a meal together afterward. In a year of disappointments, this is a significant one.

We will, however, honor and remember. We will bless God for the lives we treasured. We will comfort one another with memory and with resurrection faith.

I invite you to let us know the names of people you wish to remember during this service, so that more candles can be lit for them. Please note whether they died in the last year or before. My hope is that, in addition to the names we read aloud, we can show the names of these other saints on the screen. Send those names to Momi Lyman at the church office, please, by October 16 if at all possible.

With aloha,

Pastor Eric

Photo by Eric Anderson