Nicole’s e-Pistle

November 5, 2025

Greetings, Friends!

On Sunday, we celebrated All Saints Day. It was a lovely service of remembering those who have gone ahead of us while looking ahead to our own future as a congregation. It got me to thinking… who exactly are the “saints” from a Protestant, and especially Presbyterian, perspective?

First of all, it might be helpful to understand a little about Roman Catholic sainthood. Click HERE to read an excerpt taken from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“All Christians are called to be saints. Saints are persons in heaven (officially canonized or not), who lived heroically virtuous lives, offered their life for others, or were martyred for the faith, and who are worthy of imitation.

In official Church procedures there are three steps to sainthood: a candidate becomes ‘Venerable,’ then ‘Blessed’ and then ‘Saint.’ Venerable is the title given to a deceased person recognized formally by the pope as having lived a heroically virtuous life or offered their life.  To be beatified and recognized as a Blessed, one miracle acquired through the candidate’s intercession is required in addition to recognition of heroic virtue or offering of life. Canonization requires a second miracle after beatification.  The pope may waive these requirements. A miracle is not required prior to a martyr’s beatification, but one is required before canonization.”

Contrastingly, many Protestants adhere to the idea that all believers are saints (and all believers are sinners). In the Presbyterian Church (USA), we celebrate all saints, known and unknown, from every age – including those who have recently departed this life and those who continue their faith journeys today. Click HERE to read an excerpt taken from the Companion to the Book of Common Worship (Geneva Press, 2003, 150-151.)

“All Saints’ Day is a time to rejoice in all who through the ages have faithfully served the Lord. The day reminds us that we are part of one continuing, living communion of saints. It is a time to claim our kinship with the ‘glorious company of apostles … the noble fellowship of prophets … the white-robed army of martyrs’ (Te Deum). It is a time to express our gratitude for all who in ages of darkness kept the faith, for those who have take the gospel to the ends of the earth, for prophetic voices who have called the church to be faithful in life and service, for all who have witnessed to God’s justice and peace in every nation.

To rejoice with all the faithful of every generation expands our awareness of a great company of witnesses above and around us like a cloud (Hebrews 12:1). It lifts us out of a preoccupation with our own immediate situation and the discouragements of the present. In the knowledge that others have persevered, we are encouraged to endure against all odds (Hebrews 12:1-2). Reminded that God was with the faithful of the past, we are reassured that God is with us today, moving us and all creation toward God’s end in time. In this context, it is appropriate for a congregation on All Saints’ Day to commemorate the lives of those who died during the previous year.”

It gives me great comfort, especially when I find myself missing loved ones who have died or when we gather at the Lord’s Table, to imagine those who were instrumental in my faith formation being at the table with us. I also love imagining people all over the world, with their different languages and cultures, all worshipping God and singing God’s praises. As much as I like to tease about my “Doctor Seuss hymn” from Sunday (I Sing A Song of the Saints of God), it reminds us that the saints are just people like us, with all their strengths and faults, their courage and their fear, their good decisions and their complete failures. The saints, ourselves included, are not always venerable or honorable or even saintly, but they are all… we are all… beloved by Father, redeemed by the Son, and empowered by the Holy Spirit to share that love with a hurting world. That is indeed something to celebrate!

Blessings and Peace,