This week, people around the world mark celebrations of saints as well as a time to honor, pay respects and pray for the dead. The holidays of All Hallows’ Eve (Halloween), All Saints’ Day, and All Souls’ Day take place on Oct. 31, Nov. 1, and Nov. 2, respectively. All three can trace some or all their roots within the Christian tradition and invite us to spend some time thinking about death. Not often a topic any of us want to think about until we are forced to.

In my own Protestant world, the one we will focus on the most is Nov. 1, All Saints’ Day. Though the night before will certainly get some attention in our house too as we trick-or-treat with our son and his friends. The next day, though, or for some of us on the following Sunday, we will honor and remember those who have died, especially in the last year.

Pastor and writer, Nadia Bolz Weber says that All Saints’ is a day when the church recognizes how thin the veil is between life and death. In a text we often read on this day, the writer in Revelation, the last and perhaps least understood book of the Bible, says, “I then saw a new heaven and a new earth…I saw the holy city, I heard a loud voice…God’s dwelling is here with humankind” (selected verses from Revelation 21:1-6).  

In response to the ever-present reality of death, the writer in Revelation reminds those listening that every tear will be wiped away and death and mourning will be no more. My favorite part, though, is when we are reminded that God’s dwelling is here, with us. The power in those words is not power that rules the world but power that reminds us of who does. That God has chosen to be among us through the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus as well as the all-pervasive movement of the Holy Spirit. This is a key tenet of the Christian faith. 

We also recall that in this faith we live in a rare kind of hope where a new city breaks through and comes down to us, creates something new, calls us together regardless of who we are or the things that tend to divide us. Especially in an election season. It reminds us that our work is about creating the beloved community and living together in it. This is a new heaven and new earth where we are seen not simply as we are but as we should be. We are also called to see each other this way.

A signature moment for me in our All-Saints’ worship is when we read and call out the names of those who have died in the last year. In some churches, candles will be lit for each person, representing the light they shared during their life. Sometimes banners with bells on them that represent each person who has died are carried in a procession as we listen to our loved one’s lives ring in our ears one more time. Prayers will be rendered for them. They will be remembered in a sacred moment as we recall the life they lived on this earth. 

Though these are the traditions of the church, I invite any of you reading these words to mark the lives you may have lost in the last year or anytime. These rituals may bring healing to our pain and loss. They may open us up to the possibility of hope even in the midst of grief. Ultimately, rituals like this breathe life into our very being as they remind us of the life and legacies of those who have gone before us. May light perpetual shine on them, and may we be harbingers of hope in the various communities in which we live, work, and play.

The Rev. Dr. Lyn Pace is a United Methodist minister and college chaplain who lives in Oxford with his spouse and 9-year-old. His forthcoming book from the South Carolina United Methodist Press is “The Sacred Year: A Contemplative Journey through the Liturgical Year.”