I sing a song of the saints of God
- The Rev. Nancy J. Hagner
- 4 hours ago
- 3 min read
Dear saints,Â
This week we celebrate All Saints Day and All Souls Day. The Church rejoices in all the faithful people throughout time who have followed Jesus in big and small ways. There are the well known Saints like St. Francis who gave up a life of wealth and privilege to care for the poor and connect with all God's creatures. Francis is a "Saint" with a capital "S" because he is recognized by a formal process in the Church for sainthood. Every generation lifts up people for sainthood. The most recent person canonized is Carlo Acutis, a 15 year old who died in 2006. He will be the first "millennial" Saint, recognized for his work spreading the Gospel through technology and the internet. Saints are models and icons for the rest of we saints with a lower case "s." Their sainthood not only acknowledges their devotion to Christ, but serves to inspire us in our faith, to encourage us to explore the gifts God has given each of us and to use those gifts for the sake of God's Kingdom here on earth. On Sunday at the Communion anthem we will hear our young choristers sing the beloved hymn, reminding us that "the saints of God are just folk like me, and I mean to be one too!" Â
This Sunday we will promise to support two young people in their life in Christ as they take Baptismal vows at 10 a.m. on Sunday, and we will gather around God's table as we do each week, embodying our belief and our trust in God's promise that we are God's beloved; gathered with all the saints who have gone before us and in anticipation of our gathering at the banquet feast at the end of time. The Church is our expression of trust that God's promises are true, that we are living in a reality of love and compassion, mercy and forgiveness. We are to show this to the world by the way we live with Jesus' commandments as our center - "Love God. Love your neighbor as yourself." Jesus tells us. We do not live as the world lives with greed, power and cruelty, but as children of the One who shows mercy, compassion and love. This is not easy work, for the pressures of the world are immense, and we are fallible creatures. Showing up for one another and for God in community in prayer and service is the antidote to the broken world. That is a project I think most of us can get behind!!Â
In their recent letter to the parish, Stewardship Co-Chairs Brian Litzenberger and Peg Mallett wrote: "As Christians, we believe that God is calling us forward to build on what we have and who we are in order to be the church in this moment serving each other and the world with love. So we look to our multiple ministries and commit continued support while we also work to be open to new directions, new voices. This is sacred work. From feeding each other to feeding the world, this is the work of our community, our faith, our church."
We are about half way through this year's stewardship effort, where we each commit our financial resources as participants in Trinity's mission and ministry for the following year. As of earlier this week we have 57 pledges from the parish totaling $250,000.  The goal is $700,000 with a pledge from every household! On November 23 we will celebrate In-Gathering Sunday. Please make your pledge in one of three ways:Â
returning the pledge card that was mailed to you;Â
pledging on-line at www.trinityconcord.org/stewardship
calling Julia Mish, our bookkeeper, and she can record your pledge 978-369-3715 ext. 115
Those saints who came before us here at Trinity have blessed us with this beautiful place, their prayers continuing to echo through time for us and for our children and grandchildren. It is up to each of us, each year to join with them in prayer, participation, and in financial support so that Trinity's work in the world continues faithfully and robustly. "They were all of them saints of God and I mean, God helping to be one too!" Please join in the singing, the prayers, and the giving once again. Thank you.Â
Peace and blessings,Â
Nancy+
Photo credit: God with Angels and Saints, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56619 [retrieved October 30, 2025]. Original source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/quaknit/414242160/ - Mike Alda.