Why All Souls' Day?
 
Twice in the same week we are given two liturgical days of significance not found in the Book of Common Prayer:  Christ the King Sunday and All Souls Day.  This may lead to some of our more Prayer Book-centered brethren feeling a bit off kilter. Though revived within Anglicanism during the Oxford Movement of the 1800’s,  All Souls' Day – also known as the ‘Commemoration of the Faithful Departed’, has been observed,  in some form and on different dates, since the seventh century in the Western Church and the ninth century in the Eastern Church.
Historically,  All Souls' Day was removed from the Church of England’s calendar during the Reformation,  largely due to concerns about misunderstandings surrounding Purgatory. Article XXII of the Thirty-Nine Articles explicitly rejected certain medieval interpretations of Purgatory. However, the Church never forbade remembering the dead in prayer. In fact, the Burial Office in the Book of Common Prayer includes a petition asking God that we, along with those who have departed in faith, “may have our perfect consummation and bliss, both in body and soul, in thy eternal and everlasting glory” (p. 334). This inclusion underscores the Anglican understanding that prayer for the dead can be an act of love and hope.

The practice of praying for the dead has early Christian foundations, even though direct references are scarce in the canonical scriptures. St. Paul, for example, prays for Onesiphorus, who is presumed to have passed away (2 Timothy 1:16-18). From the earliest centuries, prayer for the deceased was part of the Church’s life, a tradition supported by figures like John Chrysostom, who encouraged prayers for those who had died, saying, “Let us not hesitate to help those who have died, and to offer prayers on their behalf.” This practice persists as an expression of the Church’s faith that Christ’s redemptive work continues to transform believers beyond this life.

A question often arises: why pray for the faithful departed if they are already assured of salvation in Christ (John 5:24), and if those who have definitively rejected God cannot be aided by prayer (Luke 16:19-31)? And what are we asking God to do for the ‘souls of the faithful departed’ when we pray that, through his mercy, they would ‘rest in peace and rise in glory’?

One answer lies in the belief that all the faithful, whether living or deceased, are continually being sanctified until they reach full union with Christ. As 1 John 3:2-3 states, “What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.” This ongoing process of sanctification reflects God’s desire to perfect each soul. In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis imagines Jesus telling us, “If you let me, I will make you perfect… I will never rest, nor let you rest, until you are literally perfect—until my Father can say without reservation that He is well pleased with you, as He said He was well pleased with me.”

This divine transformation involves a purifying process in which anything in us that resists or opposes God is stripped away. This is sometimes understood as a “purgatory” or purification, a final stage in which God’s grace brings believers to completion. Hebrews 12:1 encourages us to “lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely,” echoing this need for final healing. Thus, when we pray for our loved ones who have died, we are interceding that God will continue to perfect the good work begun in them (Philippians 1:6) and will bring them “from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

On All Souls Day, we are invited to remember our departed loved ones in prayer, presenting them in love to God as a continuing act of spiritual care. Anglican theologian N.T. Wright explains, “I see no reason why we should not pray for and with the dead… Love passes into prayer; we still love them; why not hold them, in that love, before God?” This prayerful act is a way of acknowledging that those who have gone before us are still on a journey of transformation with Christ and that our love, expressed through prayer, remains a source of blessing as they enter fully into the eternal life God has promised.

All Souls Day, then, is more than a memorial; it is a day of hope, a reminder of our ongoing connection to our loved ones in the communion of saints, and a testament to God’s unfailing love and commitment to perfecting each one of us. Through our prayers, we reaffirm our trust that God is completing His work in them, just as He is in us, until we are all united in the fullness of His presence.

--- Fr. Chris Fish+

All things come of thee, O Lord, and of thine own have we given thee

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Please send any updated contact information you would like included in the 2024 Parish Directory to the church office at sta_stm@comcast.net as soon as possible.  If you are fairly new to the parish and would like your contact information included in the Directory, please send it to the above email address.  We hope to have the Directory printed in the coming weeks.


SERVICES & EVENTS

All Saints Day Service, Friday November 1, 12 noon

All Souls Day Service, Saturday November 2, 10:00 AM

Saturday Night November 2, please put your clocks back 1 hour.

Sunday Services, 7:45 AM, 9:00 AM, & 11:15 AM (for online participation for the services go to: https://www.facebook.com/saintsofscotland) 

Sunday School, 10:30 AM

Nursery 9:00 & 11:15 Services

Wednesday, 12 noon, Holy Communion and anointing for healing, (for online participation for the service go to: https://www.facebook.com/saintsofscotland)

Wednesday at 7:30 PM,  Bible study with Fr. Bragg  on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Hebrews (bring your Bible and for parishioners and our readers across the country who are not able to attend in person you can see it online at https://www.facebook.com/saintsofscotland)  It will also appear later on St. Andrew & St. Margaret of Scotland's YouTube Channel.

Men's Group, Saturday November 16, 8:30 AM, Breakfast, Fellowship, Bible Study

Vestry Meeting, Monday November 25, 7:30 PM

Saturday, November 30, 7:00 PM, Kirkin of the Tartan and Evening Prayer with bagpiper followed by a great reception with Scottish foods and beverages.  Please put it on your calendar now and start inviting your family, friends and neighbors.
 
Updated list of needs for MaRIH crisis pregnancy center

MaRIH Center with its all volunteer staff provides help to mothers-to-be and mothers in need.  Please provide some of the items that are needed.. (You can leave the donations where the food for the food bank is collected on the pew in the undercorft.)

Especially Needed
 In Bold and with an asterisk are a critical need.

Diapers (sizes newborn, *1, 2, 3, *4, *5, & *6)
*Lovies
*Baby wipes
*Diaper rash ointment
*Baby shampoo
*Baby blankets
*Baby bottles
*Bibs toddler
*Formula: Simulac Advance Formula
Formula: other but not recalled
*Wash clothes
*Hooded towels
*Fall Winter clothing: 3-6 mo, 2T
*Winter coats 2T
*Grocery gift cards
 
Food Bank Needs
Please help this month with a food donation if you are able. Those we help feed are very thankful for the food we provide to them each month. Please also buy low sugar cereals (and not the kid's types that have lots of sugar).  Current needs include the following:
canned meats (chicken, corned beef, spam)
peanut butter
jelly
tuna
canned vegetables (corn, green beans - (regular and low sodium)
 individual fruit cups (low sugar)
canned fruit (low sugar)
canola or vegetable oil (48 oz)
boxed cereal (low sugar) and instant or old fashioned oatmeal (18 oz or 42 oz)
pasta (regular and gluten-free):
instant potatoes
single serving fruit juice
macaroni & cheese
soups: Chunky or Progresso,noodle soup; chicken broth, cream of mushroom
 coffee, cooking oil, flour, sugar
 
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St. Andrew & St. Margaret of Scotland
1607 Dewitt Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22301-1625