Why Do We Celebrate All Saints Day?

Why Do We Celebrate This Day?

All Saints Day, the first Sunday of November, is not one of the most celebrated Sundays in the life of the average United Methodist Church. That could be because when our founder John Wesley revised the calendar and lectionary for Methodists in North America, he did not include it. However, in 1789, he called it “a day that I particularly love.”

United Methodists believe in saints, but not in the same manner as the Catholic Church. Wesley believed we have a lot to learn from the saints, but he did not encourage anyone to worship them, no persons are elected to sainthood, we do not pray to saints and we do not believe they serve as mediators to God. We call people “saints” because they exemplified the Christian life. Theoretically, every Christian can be considered a saint.

All Saints Day is a time to remember the Christians who went before us, honoring those who lived faithfully and shared their faith with us. We should also honor and recognize those who left a legacy of faith through planned gifts, or gifts made from their estate after their lifetime.

Historical Background

All Saints Day grew out of the early church’s practice of remembering the martyrs of the church. Special days to recognize Saints developed over time. By the late 300s, general observance of a day to honor all Saints was in place. In the 400s such a day was often held on the Sunday after Pentecost. By the mid-700s, All Saints Day became connected with November 1.

With the coming of the Protestant Reformation, many reformers had grown uncomfortable, not so much with All Saints Day, but with their perception of the way Saints were venerated. It seemed to many that the Saints were worshipped in place of God. Lutherans and Anglicans held on to the celebration of All Saints Day, seeking to refocus the worship toward God.

Celebrate All Saints Day in Your Church

All Saints Day is held on November 1 each year. Congregations usually schedule the celebration for the first Sunday of November or on the last Sunday of October, depending on church schedules.

Your Foundation has assembled an All Saints Day Resource Guide to help church leaders and pastors plan and celebrate All Saints Day as part of their Sunday morning worship services and to help them combine All Saints Day with a Planned Giving invitation.

All of our members have an impact on the church; most give their time and financial gifts for its benefit. Some give more than that; they make a legacy gift that comes from their estate after their lifetime. All Saints Day should celebrate and recognize these saints, whether they have passed on or have made a planned gift for the future.

Feel free to call on us to help with your legacy giving materials. We can provide a myriad of generosity stories from saints all over our great state of Louisiana– what inspired them, what impact their gifts made, how they did it and the benefits of the gifts. These stories are a great tool to be used to encourage generosity in others.