A day for the dead

America rightly has a dedicated day to honor its war dead: Memorial Day. During the height of the pandemic many news programs would share the names and stories of those who died of COVID-19. On the anniversaries of terrible massacres, rightfully so, we remember the victims of Newtown, Pulse Nightclub, Sept. 11, the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, the Atlanta spa shootings, etc.

The nation does not have a day to remember those who have died of natural causes and other tragic circumstances. Religious traditions, however, do have a day set aside to remember all the dead. This weekend begins such remembrances in the Christian tradition of All Saints' Day.

In addition to passing out candy on Halloween — All Hallows' (Saints') Evening — I invite you to find a way to honor the dead and connect yourself with your ancestors and their stories.

The exact history and reasoning for the celebration of All Saints' on Nov. 1 and All Souls' on Nov. 2 are unclear. Traditions go back to the fourth century when it was observed as a spring holy day. In the ninth century, Pope Gregory IV codified All Saints' Day and moved it to Nov. 1.

Over time, the holy days have evolved and expanded as various Protestant bodies adapted the day into their religious understandings. Most Protestant churches, if they observe All Saints'/All Souls' Day have collapsed the days into one: All Saints' on Nov. 1 or the Sunday closest to Nov. 1.

All Saints' has become a day to honor not only "the official saints" but all who have departed from this life to the next. As a Baptist pastor with various and sundry adjectives, I view the days as opportunities to honor my ancestors, to say their names, to tell their stories, to give thanks for their blessings and try to continue to break some of their destructive cycles.

This day is religious in the truest sense of the word. The Latin root for religion and ligament are the same; the root word means to bind or connect. All Saints' (or All Souls') can connect the present to the past; but it is broader than the church. All Saints' is a gift for the faithful and the spiritual, those who are certain and those who are curious.

Perhaps, like me, you live in Minnesota but you're not from here; you moved here from other parts of the country or from other nations; you are separated from the resting places of your ancestors by mountains, rivers or seas (I live over 1,000 miles from the graves of my ancestors in West Virginia and Virginia). Our physical locations, however, need not exile us from our past and the stories that shape us. We may be separated from our ancestors, but we do not need to be disconnected from them.

Over the past few years of pastoring I have noticed many families are opting not to have a funeral or memorial service for the departed. Families either say they are honoring the wishes of the departed or they are too uncomfortable with death. Death, whether timely or tragic, is difficult. But choosing not to mark time with a funeral or memorial service or a gathering of any kind leaves an unnatural hole in the rhythm of the land of the living.

All Saints' Day, whether observed formally in a house of faith or in the privacy of your home, provides you a chance to restore a healthy rhythm in your life.

Over the course of this weekend I will share stories of my ancestors, regarding some of whom all I know is a name. I will share stories of friends who died too soon. And I will share the stories of those who inspire and challenge me.

I invite you, sometime this weekend or next week, to light a candle in memory of the departed or share a story of an ancestor with a friend, or visit a place that binds you, connects you to the dead.