AllHALLOWTIDE
Hallows’ Eve + All Saints’ Day + All Souls’ Day
All Hallows’ Eve | Oct 31
The ‘What’
“The Biblical day begins in the preceding evening, and thus in the Church calendar, the eve of a day is the actual beginning of the festive day. Christmas Eve is most familiar to us, but there is also the Vigil of Holy Saturday that precedes Easter Morn. Similarly, All Saints’ Eve precedes All Saints’ Day. The concept, as dramatized in Christian custom, is quite simple: On October 31, the demonic realm tries one last time to achieve victory, but is banished by the joy of the Kingdom” (James B. Jordan, 1996, ‘Concerning Halloween’).
The ‘How’
Halloween falls on a Thursday this year. We are going to be gathering in our priory groups for prayer, potluck, and trick-or-treating in our neighborhoods. Reach-out to one of our priory leaders for more information.
All Saints’ Day | Nov. 1
The ‘What’
Every Sunday we begin our service by saying “Blessed is the Kingdom…” By this we are pointing to the Kingdom of God and saying: Above and beyond all other concepts of what “the good life” looks like the Kingdom of God is what it means to be successful, the Kingdom of God is the measure of happiness, the kingdom of God is what it means to be joy-filled, the Kingdom of God is the good life.
On this day we reflect on the way in which particular persons throughout history have lived according to the Kingdom in such a way that their lives become living examples of what it means to truly life this “good life.” They teach us what it means to live in the blessedness of that kingdom.
The ‘How’
We will gather at 5.30 PM at Aiea Heights Church for worship and Holy Communion. Afterwards we will share in a feast with games and activities.
All Souls’ Day | Nov. 2
The ‘What’
Okay, so All Hallows Eve, and All Saints Day —we get those… but what is this day? If Halloween is supposed to be a liturgical “stand-up-comedy” this day sounds like a liturgical “sit-down-tragedy” (to riff on a line from Merold Westphal)… What is this day all about?
All Souls Day is an extension of All Saints Day. It is a day the Church sets aside to remember the vast body of the “faithful departed” who, though no less heirs of the Kingdom of Christ, are unknown to the broad fellowship of the Church: my great-grandmother, my Sunday school teacher; all of the pastors and missionaries who will never have a feast day; all of the parents unknown, obscure, and little, who changed diapers and advanced the kingdom; all those we knew and loved and whose lives played a role for the Gospel in our lives. These are those we gather today to remember and give thanks for. As Anglicans we don’t sing masses for the dead, nor do we pray to them. We do, however, give thanks to the God who gave them to us and remember them before him and, together with them, await the Return of the King.
The ‘How’
Using this worksheet, gather with family or friends and compose a litany of the great saints from your own life who have passed-on ahead of you into glory. Once completed, use the litany worksheet during one of our worship services, as we give thanks corporately for the lives of our loved ones. We will have one service at 10 AM at the Brunos’ house, a second service at 2 PM on the West-side (location TBD), and a third one at 6 PM at the Brians’. Contact Fr. Mark with any questions.
And also… Historically All Souls’ Day also placed an emphasis on the poor and the lonely. Consider ways to reach-out to the poor and the lonely in your neighborhoods and social circles.
The Big ‘Why’
For many moderns the events listed above don’t fit in our popular conception of Halloween and, for many moderns, the other two days (All Saints and All Souls) simply do not exist on the calendar. Why are these days so important?
Long ago our pagan forebears gathered at this time to hail the darkening of the year. The light was dying, and with it the world. In fear we once raised suppliant hands in petition against the darkness to the gods of death, offering sacrifice and oblation in the hopes that the winter that comes would not be our last.
But lo! The God who made the seasons and times, and set in motion the annual darkening of the world, did so for love and glory. And in the fullness of time God became incarnate among us, in the world that dies; a light to those in darkness, and life for the race of Adam. He was betrayed, crucified, and killed. On the third day He descended to the dead —that place we so long dreaded. He conquered death, hell, and Satan, trampling the old serpent under his feet. He delivered us from the power of the Enemy and raised us to the glorious kingdom of the saints who bear his Name. He will come again in victory at the resurrection and his kingdom will have no end.
This weekend, we laugh against the old darknesses, and we celebrate with joy that the Enemy has been defeated, and that death has been swallowed up in life, and that though the body may waste away and those we love pass-on, we do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. We make glad and merry, for our God is the Resurrection and the Life, and those who believe in Him, who call upon his name, though they die, they shall live.
Historically this triduum was a fulfillment of Easter for Christians all over the world. It stands diametrically across the cycle of the year from Easter and celebrates the fact that the people of God get to participate in Christ’s Easter victory. Let us live this weekend as the People of the Resurrection. For all those who still harbor suspicions about the (supposed) connections between Halloween and paganism —especially in a culture where designer brands of new Age spirituality (with bar-codes on the backs of their tarot) appear to evidence a resuscitation of paganism— let us remember, as Chesterton reminds us, that the last and greatest thing the ancient pagans did was to get baptized.