Today is All Hallows’ Eve, and tomorrow is All Saints Day.  Some of you may have celebrated last Sunday as All Saints, while others may be focusing on the first Sunday of November.  I believe that it is an important day in the life of the church. It is a time to remember all those who have gone before us in the faith.  It is an appropriate time to reflect upon those who created congregations and have nurtured them over the years.

We celebrate because we are connected through the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit with the faithful throughout the kingdom of God.  But celebrating those early founders and important persons in our congregations, who have now entered into the fullness of God’s kingdom, is an excellent way to communicate about generosity.

Congregations did not just drop out of the sky. The founders were willing to give of their time, their talents, their prayers and their resources to create places of worship throughout our state. They were willing to sacrifice for the sake of the kingdom. And we can probably think of those closer to our generations who continued to do the same for the growth and support of our local churches.

All Saints Day/Sunday is a great time to talk about our models of generosity in generations before us.