Dear Friends in Christ,

Here is the message of All Saints’ Day: you are not alone.

In our time and place, I often hear religion described as a purely personal matter.  The claim is generally some variation on the idea that faith is between me and my God.  And while this claim is true—personal faith is vital—it is not the whole truth.

Life in Christ is always shared life.

We will see it this Sunday at our 10:30 service, as we baptize a young child, welcoming her as a part of the body.  And we see it, too, at our 5:00 Requiem, as we remember those who have gone before us in this earthly life.  We proclaim them as still a part of the body, too.  They may be seen no more, but they matter, deeply.

If I say that faith is between me and my God—only between us—then I am not seeing the full picture.  I am losing sight of the companionship I have along the way.

Christian community—the prosaic name for what we sometimes call “the communion of saints”—is no light thing.  It comes with accountability.  If we are to matter to one another, then we have the duty of showing up for one another.  We are responsible for coming to worship, for committing our resources to one another (through pledging and through the gifts of our time), for educating ourselves about our tradition, and for caring for one another in good times and bad.

Christian community indeed comes with accountability—but it also comes with great blessing.  In time, we discover that we do not celebrate alone or grieve alone.  We learn that there are others who share the same questions of the heart and who find answers in scripture and in liturgy.  We find kindred spirits—not only in our parish but in our tradition, as we realize that others have struggled with the same challenges and by their example help us to find our way.  Even when we are in solitude, we are accompanied by those who pray for us.  Sometimes, they even pray for us without knowing our names.

You are not alone and have never been alone and never will be.  God has set us to be lights for one another, and, God willing, we show one another the way.

Yours in Christ,

Anne+