November 9, 2022
The Stories of our Saints
This past Sunday, we celebrated “All Saints’ Day”. Yes, I know that sounds very Catholic for a Baptist church, but it is much more than icons or statues in a cathedral. All Saints’ Day is a celebration of the lives and memories of our loved ones (“Saints”) who have died in the last year. We remember these saints and allow the memory of their faith to spur us on to deeper worship and greater service to the Lord. What a meaningful service we experienced as we read the names of members who had died, lit a candle for each one, and remembered their connection to our lives and to God.
The Bible does not tell us to pray to the saints (Matt. 6:6) or through the saints (1 Tim. 2:5). Instead, we think of our connectedness to these saints and find inspiration in their stories of God’s faithfulness. Hebrews 11 gives many examples of the great cloud of witnesses whose lives tell of God’s unfailing love and grace. This year we had 20 members become part of that cloud of witnesses and we remembered them on Sunday. They are:
Patsy Baughman
Carl Bovender
Neva Collins
John Current
Stan Elrod
Ray Freeman
Bobbie Hall
Maurice Hall
Merial Holland
Jean Jordan
Hazel King
Carole Moore
Dottie Petree
David Sloan
Jerri Smith
Helen Spillers
Joe Sugg
Beth Wilson Tsiolkas
Regina Walters
Alice Wilson
May we continually remember their stories as we live out our own. May they inspire us to all be the saints that Jesus calls us to be.
