“You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord, so live your life as children of light.” Ephesians 5:8

Dear Friends: 

May tomorrow’s Samhain (pronounced sow-in) be a day of warding off evil spirits for you and your household. Yes, tomorrow is Halloween. Costumes are worn, jack-o-lanterns are lit, and trick or treating prevails. And, may your Halloween be the hallowed, holy evening it was originally intended to be!

Samhain originated as a Celtic festival celebrating the harvest time with huge fires to the pagan gods. Eventually, the church got a hold of Samhain when Pope Gregory III named November 1 as All Saints Day. All Saints Day is the day in the life of the church when we remember all the faithful who have passed into God’s nearer presence since the previous All Saints Day. With All Saints as a high holy day, Samhain became the eve of the hallowed holy day. The tradition of burning fires, coupled with costumes to scare away any of the unholy intended to threaten sainthood characterized the festival. The Celts, who to this very day, understand a God who dwells in that liminal space between the spirit world and the physical world came to fully embrace All Hallows Eve with All Saints. 

On Sunday, with Halloween behind us, we’ll celebrate All Saints Day. We’ll remember those who now dwell with God in the spirit world and give thanks for their lives  once among us. Sunday evening at 5:30 p.m. with guest pianist Rachel Lee and our own Melissa Woodhead on the harp, All Saints will continue with the holiness of Celtic Worship.

Author and priest, Diana Butler Bass, describes Celtic Worship as a time of quiet contemplation and space to address the question “where is God?” In Celtic Worship, traditional Episcopal liturgy gives way to an openness for the Spirit to dwell that enlarges our “vision to experience ourselves, our neighbors, and God as an interrelated ecology of faith.” With Celtic Worship there are many things that are not. There is no organ music. Rather, a piano and often the sweet sound of the harp. There is no choir. Only the gentle stream of congregational singing. The lighting is dimmed to invite us into the calm of the setting sun. Candles flicker offering all to step forward lighting up their prayers. There is no sermon. But, a reflection from a lay person with a story to share. Holy Communion centers the worship with all encircled at the foot of the table to receive the consecrated bread and wine. Prayers include stillness, meditative silences, and “lifting our attention toward heaven,…to see the world around us more deeply, to consider both nature and human community in new ways.” 

Celtic Worship is not intended to be “another program” or even an evening offering contributing to church growth. Often Celtic Worship is an opportunity for those estranged from the church and looking for a new way to return or enter. There worshipers will find peace and calm as they are birthed into a simplicity of worship that illumines us with the sacred as known in the earth, the skies, and in one another. Come to Celtic Worship my friends. There you will find God. 

Remember on Sunday to turn your clocks back as we come to the close of daylight savings time. May your All Hallows Eve and All Saints celebrations surround you with God’s embrace. 

Many blessings,

Hillary