Sunday was the Feast of All Saints. I certainly enjoyed the celebration at church. The congregation i currently serve has a worships attendance about 80 to 90 a week. It has been growing over the last year thanks to Edie’s leadership (Edie is the Priest-in-Charge). It’s not a big church but it is open to some of the unusual things that i bring to the table. One of the things i bring is a very different way of preaching. It’s expository preaching. It’s text-driven preaching. However it’s also very personal and very much from the heart. It’s passionate and very high-energy. It’s creative, funny and event dramatic. It’s done without a manuscript or notes but it is not off-the-cuff. It’s physical preaching in that i often use props and motion and the physical space. It’s spiritual preaching in that i’m not pushing a political agenda or partisan denominational point of view–it’s about the life with Christ in a community of believers. I’ve been told that i’m a gifted preacher. I always feel very self-conscience when someone tells me that. I say “thank you” but i am quick to acknowledge that whatever people see is a gift from God and if there is something that has touched them, it’s come from God too. Ultimately this is not about me. It’s about Christ.
So for All Saints we had a great celebration that included three baptisms. There were 119 people present. The day included a few firsts for me: It was my first time participating in baptisms as an Episcopal priest, my first chrismation (in the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod they didn’t use chrism), my first time leading Eucharist Prayer D and my first time preaching on a baptismal day in 12 years. Edie planed a wonderful liturgy that incorporated the naming of saints from the community who had recently died. It all flowed beautifully. At the same time it had the necessary warmth and informality and openness that allow newcomers to experience it without having to get stressed out about the newness of it all.
It was a great treat and a deep delight yesterday. We remembered the saints of old. We took our place among the saints of this day. And we made new saints. That’s what i call an All Saints celebration!
