Sermons from Lyndale

Today in worship we honor All Saints Day and All Souls Day, which, to me, have everything to do with inevitable change. Traditionally, All Saints’ Day is celebrated on November 1 and All Souls Day on November 2. The distinction between the two, historically, is that All Saints’ Day honored specifically those faithful people canonized by the institutional church and All Souls’ Day honors all of our beloved dead. Today, we blur those lines, knowing that there are many saints – wise and holy ancestors – whose sainthood will never be formally recognized due to their race, class, gender, sexuality, or politics, and that many who are formally recognized as saints have caused great harm through colonization, racism, anti-semisism, and more.