In 2011, Americans spent $6.9 billion on Halloween, and this year that number is predicted to reach $8 billion, or almost 80 bucks a household (!) on costumes, candy, and decorations, according to the National Retail Federation. The candy-scarfing holiday has become big business, especially for those with small children. I guess we all need a day to let our hair down between Labor Day and Thanksgiving.

Personally, I wish that we would all take more notice of the little holiday in the shadows of the behemoth Halloween. On November 1^st, Christians all across the Western world gather to celebrate the little-known observance called All Saints Day. At Epiphany we know All Saints (often observed on the first Sunday after November 1^st) as the Sunday when we read the names of members and friends who have died in the past year while a chime tolls for each name.

This is a classic case when the tail has begun wagging the dog. Christians began to observe All Saints Day in the early seventh century. For hundreds of years this day remembering the honored dead was a big deal in the church, and believe it or not, it was All Saints that gave birth to the child-friendly indulgence that we call Halloween. You see, early on, All Saints was also called All Hallows, or "all holy ones." In the Roman Catholic tradition, this became a day to celebrate the faithful who reached beatification, which is technical step toward being named a saint in the church. Despite the celebratory nature of the day, All Hallows began to take on a morbid undertone. Then it was just a short jump from there to All Hallows Eve (a.k.a. Halloween), the night before All Saints Day when ghosts and goblins supposedly roam the Earth. The candy is just a modern-day bonus!

By contrast, some have called the modern All Saints Sunday a congregation-wide funeral service as we all remember parents and grandparents, relatives and friends who have died recently. Boy, that will pack 'em in the pews! Hard to believe that Halloween makes a bigger splash, huh?! But there is more to the All Saints observance than just digging up the memory of loved ones. In Hebrews, the Apostle Paul imagines that you (Christians) are in a race. The race takes place inside a huge stadium, and as you run your race, the whole crowd rises to their feet to cheer you on. Paul calls this cheering crowd "a great cloud of witnesses." His point is that every one of us believers is part of something much larger than ourselves. You and I aren't just members of Epiphany. We are part of the church in every time and place. We are nourished and supported by all those who passed the faith on to us, and we have a responsibility to grow the faith in those of the next generation. It's why we take being mentors to Epiphany's young people so seriously.

So come rejoice as all of us saints lift up part of a big, wide, wonderful Christian movement. On Sunday, November 4^th, at both services, we will pray for all those who have gone before us, and on Wednesday, November 7^th at 7 pm, we will have a service of Laying on of Hands for Healing. This is a day worth celebrating. Besides, who really needs more candy?!

God Loves You, and So Do I!

Pastor Devin

pastordevin@epiphanysuwanee.org