Greetings:

A couple of weeks ago I preached that we should rejoice in the Lord always; and this I still believe and assert. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, Rejoice (Phil. 4:4).” While we rejoice, loss, grief and remembrance are also a part of our walk of faith. Loss and grief are as much a part of God as is rejoicing and celebrating.

This year has certainly been a year of loss and grief. We have first lost what was our normal way of life. Following that, there has been the loss of job; the loss of income; the loss of our ability to gather with family and friends (I will go through all of 2020 without seeing my son); the loss of some travel; the loss of our way of worship; the loss of physical contact (everything from just a handshake to a full embrace) from anyone not immediately near to us; and most importantly, the loss of the lives of our friends and family members. Each loss brings a certain grief, but the loss of our friends and family bring a particular form of grief because we have not been able to celebrate their lives in the way that we are accustomed. Back in March, April and even in May, if we had a funeral, we were restricted to just 10 people. If we had a graveside service, then we possibly had up to 50 people but we had to be socially distanced and wearing masks. Even now, though we can have more than 10 people, services are generally restricted to just family. Yet in the midst of our loss and grief, the Bible is not silent, nor is the life-cycle of the Church.

Sunday, November 1, is All-Souls Sunday. It is the Sunday set aside on the Christian Calendar to celebrate and remember the souls of those who have gone before; and to acknowledge their loss in our lives. This year, that November 1 falls on a Sunday is especially poignant to me; and I have been praying all week concerning this celebration.

Sunday, our service will be a service of celebration and remembrance of those who we have lost this year. Within Mt. Olive I call the names of Mrs. Joyce Bowman, Mr. Andrew Perry, Sr, and Ms. Jueldenn Ford. Outside of the Mt. Olive family, there may be friends and family that you may want to remember. If so, you can respond to this email with the name(s) of the ones you love who you have lost this year. We will call each name during the service.

I invite each of you to join me this Sunday in this traditional celebration of the life of those who have gone before.

Sincerely,

Rev. Dr. Reginald Broadnax