All Saints Day - A note from my Bishop to the clergy of Mississippi

Nov. 1, 2006
"Saints, All"


I want to be in that number,
When the saints go marching in.

Samuel Wells, dean of Duke Chapel, observes that the word saints is consistently plural in the Bible. There is no reference to a solitary saint.

John Wesley taught us that “there is no thing as a solitary Christian.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer urged that, wherever we experience Christian community we offer thanks. Christian community is not to be taken for granted; it is always God’s gift to us.

Today is the day of All Saints, a day to celebrate our shared life in Christ. This life has great expansiveness, breadth and depth. Encompassed in this great company of God’s people are those who now live in heaven and all who love Christ now in this life.

We are a grand company indeed, unique yet unified, diverse yet drawn in together. Let us count ourselves in that number, not from hubris but from humility. God gives to all God’s beloved a place in the great company of saints.

With gratitude for your share in the ministry of Christ,

Hope