Did you know that today is “All Saints Day”? That’s where we get the name Halloween from. It’s literally All Hallows Eve or All Saints Eve. The idea was that this was a day to remember all the minor, lesser known saints who didn’t get a saints’ day, a catch all if you like. Protestants of course don’t celebrate special saints. We recognise that all of God’s people are saints, are holy. So, for Anglicans and others who follow the Church calendar it became a day to give thanks for all of God’s people, the church, remembering those who have gone on before us as “a great crowd of witnesses” but also praying especially for the persecuted church around the world.
Our own church isn’t into liturgies and calendars, so we don’t tend to mark special events outside of Christmas and Easter. However, perhaps those of us who don’t follow calendars might still appreciate a prompt to prayer and action.
The secular news cycle tends to focus on specific areas such as what is happening in Ukraine and in Gaza and understandably so. We are rightly concerned for those affected by those conflicts. However, there are horrific wars, genocides and persecution happening in other parts of the world including The Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Nigeria. Perhaps today would be a good moment to pause and pray?
I would encourage you to pay particular attention to this article about Nigeria. Observers are coming to the conclusion that what we have been seeing in the horrific actions of Boko Haram and others is genocide. Yet this does not make the front pages of the secular media.
As well as praying, this should motivate us to think more about how we stand with brothers and sisters. We are blessed to have many Nigerian Christians here with us, blessing the church with vitality and new life. How do we stand with them?
One small way is to write to our own MPs and the government asking them to take action, to speak up for the persecuted, offer practical assistance to those seeking to resist the genocide and to make clear that those seeking asylum are welcome here. Perhaps there are other things we can do as well. Drop a comment below with your thoughts.
Here are some further thoughts on using today as an opportunity to remember God’s people throughout the world and throughout history.
Faithroots 