UPDATE 10/26: My apologies! The All Saints Day video was incorrectly set to “private” instead of public”! I’ve now fixed the setting so you can view the video — it’s appropriate anytime this week (Nov. 1 is All Saints Day). SORRY FOR THE MIXUP!

Feels like fall is going quickly! 🍁🍂 Here is this week’s nondenominational worship service for All Saints Day, related to and celebrated on the day after Halloween. (This is essentially the same video as last year, with minor updates.)

Watch the 44-minute worship service for All Saints Day here.

And here’s the written agenda.

HISTORY OF ALL SAINTS DAY

Ever since one elder told me that she appreciated knowing some Halloween background, I like to include some context for this service. It may help if you have elders who are concerned about celebrating a holiday that’s often associated with darker forces. 

More than 2,000 years ago, the Celtic harvest festival Samhain (pronounced sow-INN) observed a time when the spirits of the departed were believed to mingle more freely with the living world.

According to History.com, by the 9th century, Christianity’s influence blended with Celtic rites, including Samhain. “In 1000 A.D., the church established All Souls’ Day, a day to honor the dead. The All Saints’ Day celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse, meaning All Saints’ Day). [The] night before, the traditional night of Samhain in the Celtic religion, began to be called All-Hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween.”

In some parts of Latin America, this between-worlds celebration is now the highly decorated Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) to honor relatives who’ve passed on. (The photo above shows an offering candle on an ofrenda.)

For Christians, remembering the saints of old (and saints today!) gives us the chance to thank God for their example and to remember their legacy and lessons.

Peace be with you,

Photo by Jordan González for Unsplash+