Happy All Saints Day

There's enough evil in the world anyway without a whole day to celebrate the darker side of life, so goodbye Hallowe'en, and hello All Saints Day, a much brighter festival.

And that's especially true when you realise what the Bible means by 'saints.'

Not special Christians, not heroes of the faith (though they're included), but every Christian.

In fact, 'saint' is the Bible's favourite word for a Christian:

'To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints' (Romans 1.7)

'To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus' (Ephesians 1.1)

'To the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi' (Philippians 1.1)

Here's a picture from the German Lutheran Church in Stockholm that I visited on holiday.

I like its stained glass saints: an ordinary family of believing Christians saying grace before their  meal.

So, happy All Saints Day, to God's ordinary but wonderful saints wherever they may be and whatever they may be doing, and, a special blessing to the saints of Bermondsey in St Anne's, St James's, and all our sister churches of every denomination.