From Bishop Steve – Newsletter 10.28.26

Dear Friends,

A moment to pat ourselves on the back. A big thank you to all who took part in or helped with our Diocesan Convention. We enjoyed a beautiful setting, worshiped together, heard from a leader of The Episcopal Church, engaged in meaningful conversations, practiced electronic voting, elected our own leaders, reviewed this past summer’s listening process, adopted the budget, and addressed our business in a respectful and orderly manner. There was a good and hopeful spirit throughout.

A successful Convention requires the hard work and faithful participation of many people. So thank you to all who took part: clergy, delegates, exhibitors, guests and staff. We did it together!

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This week is Halloween, which in my lifetime has become an increasingly popular holiday, celebrated not only by trick-or-treaters, but also by adults. It has also become an important commercial event. So, it’s probably useful to talk about it a bit.

We are moving into the season of new year’s festivals, and Halloween is the first of them. Our Halloween practices are rooted in the Celtic observance of Samhain, meaning “summer’s end,” a harvest and new year’s festival. At Samhain, the Celts believed that the veil between the living and the dead thinned and connections could be made with the spirits of the dead, some of which were malevolent. Communal bonfires were lit to keep the bad spirits at bay, and in true new year’s fashion, fires were extinguished at home and families carried home embers of the communal fire in gourds to protect their homes. (Think jack-o-lanterns.) Costumes or animal skins were also worn to confuse or hide from malevolent spirits.

The Christian Church, in a long established habit, moved All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day to November 1 and 2, to co-opt and Christianize the pagan festival. The calendar remains the same today.

There is in all of us the very human sense that people remain connected beyond death. Whether we think that’s simply the power of memory or a living, spiritual connection, it’s nonetheless the truth that, although death ends our physical connection, we continue to carry those who have gone before us in our minds and hearts. In the Church we call that the communion of saints, and we believe that through God’s grace we remain connected for eternity. The saints are for us examples and reminders of God’s love and faithfulness. I sometimes hear my former mother-in-law, a good theologian, speaking to me about what God wants.

Christians sometimes lament the rise of Halloween traditions. I personally dislike the gruesomeness of some Halloween decorations. But the human recognition of mortality, the yearning for connection, and the hope for new life that underlies Halloween deserves serious consideration. The “cloud of witnesses” we recognize continues to be an important part of our faith and life. Perhaps we might celebrate All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days with renewed attention and energy this year.

Peace,
+Steve