Dear Friends,
On Tuesday night and Wednesday morning this week we celebrated All Souls with candlelight, quietness, prayer, gentle music and a Eucharist. We have all lost people who are beloved to us: parents, children, siblings, grandparents, friends. The word 'lost' is a euphemism, literally speaking it might imply carelessness, as though we have misplaced our loved ones. None of us would do such a thing! The reality is that they are physically lost to us, we can no longer hold them or behold them as we once did, and so our memories become of supreme importance to us as we hold them in our hearts.
The beauty, strength and hope of our faith is that we believe and are told repeatedly, that no-one is 'lost' to our God. Psalm 139 reminds us that before we were even thought of, God knew us. It was God who knit us together in our mothers' wombs and assures us that we are intricately and wonderfully made. There is nowhere on earth or in heaven that we can be separate from God and God's love for us. The resurrection of Jesus assures us that death does not have the final say in our lives. Our loved ones may be physically lost to us, but in God's presence they are very real indeed. This is our faith!
On Sunday we will celebrate the feast of All Saints and remember that we are part of a mystical communion of the living and the departed. Those who have gone on before us lead the way, and we look forward to being reunited with them one day.
No-one is lost to God. We are all God's saints. God bless you this week as you remember with love the ones you hold dear.
Yours,
Rev. Nicola
