Approaching Halloween and other traditional feast days (All Saints and All Souls Days) St. James - Westwood's Weekly Epistle - 27 Oct. 2011 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-matured wines of rich food filled with marrow, of well-matured wines strained clear. And he will destroy on this mountain the shroud that is cast over all peoples, the sheet that is spread over all nations; he will swallow up death for ever. Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken. It will be said on that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.  (Isaiah 26: 5-9)   Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ      I was mowing the lawn at home yesterday afternoon; perhaps for the last  time this calendar year. My thoughts drifted to the theme of Autumn as I cut the grass. I recalled that children will be coming to house for Halloween candy in a few days. And, around the same time, the Church's feasts of All Saints and All Souls will pass by. One of those events is a kinda big deal whereas two enduring religious practices will probably go unnoticed by the majority of people here in the United States. It's odd isn't it? We've commercialized All Hallow's Eve without realizing that its roots reside principally in ancient and medieval religious holidays. I love chocolate about as much as anybody and it will be cool to hand out candy to the children who come to my door on the 31st. Nonetheless, I wish that we did a better job of recalling our ancestors and their customs. The Celts celebrated Samhain - a harvest festival marking the transition from summer to winter (light to dark). Samhain was also a time to note that the natural cycle of life around them was passing through its own moments of death. They created religious rituals so that living people would benefit from the energies of increase that lead out of death back to life.    (Kondratiev, 1997). Ancient Christians were coincidentally commemorating the lives of the martyrs who were responsible for instituting the faith as well as providing models of living for Jesus' disciples to adhere to in the own communities. Pope Gregory III instituted All Saints Day on the 1st of November when he dedicated an oratory for relics "of the holy apostles and of all saints, martyrs and confessors, of all the just made perfect who are at rest throughout the world." All Saints has been a significant liturgical date in the Catholic calendar ever since.   Dia De Los Muertos  is a Mexican holiday that occurs on All Saints Day and All Souls Day. Family and friends gather to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. Traditional activities include building private altars  and consuming the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts. Costumes are a huge part of the festivities albeit this aspect of "The Day of the Dead" has similarly become commercialized.     Mowing the grass shouldn't probably be such a contemplative practice but living into the realities of our mortality, noticing the change of season, and offering thanks for our religious and familial ancestors should be. We will celebrate All Saints Day here at St. James on Nov. 6. In the meantime, what does this Autumn Season mean to you as we pass from the long warm and muggy days of summer to the colder, shorter sunlit moments of Winter? Is there someone in your recent or distant past who profoundly impacted your life and faith. If so, how will you be commemorate their lives on All Saints or All Souls Day? Perhaps there's a family ritual that you can create or maybe you'll want to share a special kind of candy with the children who visit you in their costumes. I don't know but hopefully these autumn days will not pass you by unnoticed nor will God's immanent and loving presence be lost in the Trick or Treats either.  Blessings Along The Way, Jim+  O God, the Maker and Redeemer of all believers: Grant to the faithful departed the unsearchable benefits of the passion of your Son; that on the day of his appearing they may be manifested as your children; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and ever. Amen       This Week @ St. James Thursday 5:00 PM Community Supper Please contact Jane if you haven't already and let her know how you plan to help out or what food you will bring to feed our neighbors. Thanks!                7:00 PM Vestry Sunday  8 AM - Rite I Eucharist              9 AM - Youth and Adult Sunday School            10 AM - Children's Sunday School                        Rite II Eucharist Here are some more historical facts about Samhain, All Saints, and All Souls Days. Back in my hometown of Tucson, they really "do up" Dia De Los Muertos with the community's "All Souls Procession." As many as 20,000 people get involved in an effort to create "a sanctuary for community members from all walks of life to express their grief and loss in a celebration of creative energy and a rejoicing of living." Check out the video and enjoy the people's creativity