Bishop Katherine Finegan, Journal columnist

“I pray….that you may know what is the hope to which [Jesus] has called you.”

~ Ephesians 1: 17-18

Dear Friends and Neighbors, did you have a good Halloween? I was happy to see some hilarious costumes as I drove slowly down the street. The mood of the late afternoon was festive and fun as parents and older siblings accompanied young dinosaurs, mermaids, pirates and more from house to house. It seems to me that Halloween gives people the opportunity to thumb their nose at death, to dress it up a little, have fun with it, add some candy and make it more palatable.

In the Church calendar, it is no coincidence that All Saints’ Day on Nov. 1 follows Halloween on Oct. 31. As you might know, the word Halloween is a mutation of All Hallows’ Eve, that is the evening before the Holy or Hallowed day of All Saints’ Day. And Nov. 2 is still observed by many to be All Souls’ Day, a remembering of not only all the saints, but of all those who have died, saints and sinners alike. So Halloween these days is a cultural remnant of a three-day festival that intentionally remembers the dead, and it has a little fun with it, because remembering the dead, and death itself, is difficult.

But in the Church, we try not to avoid or deny the reality of death. All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day provide opportunities to acknowledge that death is a part of us just as much as our loved ones continue to be.

During worship in many churches near you this Sunday, the names of those who died this past year in our communities of faith will be read out loud. In doing so, not only are the memories of the dead honored, but comfort is also offered to those who mourn.

It is a way to offer compassion and bring some healing to grieving hearts. The dead are given honor by perhaps lighting a candle, and if possible, tolling the funeral bell, marking our grief and commending the dead to the care and keeping of God Almighty.

In this autumn season, as we notice the dying leaves and the increasing darkness, we prepare for the coming of winter. As we read the names of those who have died, we prepare ourselves for when we shall join them.

Just as spring follows winter, so does new life follow your life on this earth. This is the hope to which you have been called in Christ Jesus. Through faith, lives now are different because hope in an eternal future changes how we live in the present.

In worship this Sunday, strengthened by faith and the presence of each other, we will look death in the face and acknowledge the pain and loss for what it is.

And even as we mourn those who have died, even as we brace for the death that will inevitably come to us, even as we observe the coming dormancy of the natural world around us, we know that God promises new life through faith in Christ Jesus and the hope of a reunion with our all of our loved ones.

May this hope comfort you and all who mourn.

Your neighbor,

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Rev. Katherine Finegan is bishop of the Great Lakes Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.