Saints Surround Us

Tonight at 8:30 p.m. in Snidow Chapel, LC will hold its annual Service of Remembrance. This year the Spiritual Life Administrative Assistant, Christie Rapp, sent out around 100 personalized invitations to members of our campus community whom we knew had lost a close friend or family member within the last calendar year. The invitation is to attend the service and/or to request that a candle be lit in memory of someone.

Every year I am amazed at how many members of our community experience a significant death. Some lose grandparents, while others lose parents or siblings. Some of the deaths are a result of old age or long term illness, some are tragic and sudden. The service is always a reminder to me of how many around the Dell carry heavy hearts. There is so little space in the business of life to stop and mourn or to stop and find time for reflection. The service provides a brief pause to light a candle, listen to readings, and hear a melody.

All Saints Day, Día de Muertos, and many other traditions around the globe this time of year, celebrate the saints or “cloud of witnesses” that surround us. (See Hebrews 12:1.) We remember relatives, friends and the many people that nurtured and supported us. We remember all those who have helped us get to where we are. No one is born into a vacuum and no one is completely self-made . . . we all had a village. That is a message of hope for me – that there are people around who support me, and there are people whom I will have the opportunity to support, reassure and encourage.

An activity, which appeared in a church curriculum I studied this week, requests that everyone in the room don a nametag with “Saint” above their name. The idea is to recognize the saints in the room as well as those who have gone before. Life moves at such a pace that I am keenly aware of the “cloud of witnesses” that surrounds me and encourages me on a daily basis—there are times I wouldn’t make it without you. I also take great pride in being a part of a community that does care for one another. When we are at our best as a community at Lynchburg College, we live out our mission as saints for one another.

I leave you with this Episcopal Prayer:

For all the saints – those who have gone on and those right here in our lives, we thank you, God. Help us to celebrate those who show us the way and help us to choose to be the saints you call us to be. Amen.

Blessings, Stephanie