All Saints Day

Grace be to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

All Saints Sunday looks to past, present, and future.

We remember those from whom, in Paul’s words today, we “had heard the word of truth”. We give thanks for the saints who have gone before us, on whose shoulders we stand, who have shaped our faith and inspired our service.

Paul also writes of the “pledge of our inheritance”. This speaks to our faith in the resurrection. Trusting that by God’s grace, we will be raised to new life after death gives us comfort when we mourn the death of a beloved person. It also gives us hope for our daily lives, knowing that our future rests securely in God’s loving hands.

Paul goes on to write, I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. With this verse, Paul highlights the fact that we are surrounded by saints who bless us with their faith, their love, and their prayers. We are the community of saints within which we support one another, worship God together, and serve God’s people.

As the baptized children of God, we stand in a long line of saints, a line that started after the resurrection of Christ and that will continue until the day Jesus Christ returns. We are blessed by the faith and generosity of saints that went before us, and we are called to lay the foundation for the saints that come after us; and while we live out that calling, we are supported by the saints of this day and age.

 Two years ago, we began celebrating All Saints Sunday by remembering some of the saints from Calvary’s story.

Have you ever wondered why our fellowship hall is named Kimberlin Hall?

The name comes from the Kimberlin siblings: Nettie, Henry, and Ora. The three of them lived together; none of them ever married. Nettie was a teacher, Henry was a farmer, and Ora kept the house. All of them were faithful members of Calvary.

Both Nettie and Henry died in 1970, leaving Ora to fend for herself. Except, she wasn’t by herself; she was surrounded by the people of Calvary. On Sunday mornings, the Hill Family would drive to her house in Glenelg to pick her up for church. This detour added half an hour to the driving time, meaning the Hill children had to get up that much earlier, but that’s what saints do. Ora always wore her hat to church. According to one person, she didn’t have many teeth but a very happy smile.

When Ora died 1979, she left the church over $60,000. That became the seed money for Calvary’s move to our current location. And that’s why the fellowship hall bears the name of this faithful, generous family.

Now we will go even further back in history, to the building of the very first church. This was a skit written for the 100th anniversary of our congregation and re-enacted for the 125th anniversary. You might see several dear saints who have since moved away or moved on to the church triumphant. May the example of these faithful people inspire us in our calling as saints of today.

Please be sure to watch “The Formation of Calvary Evangelical Lutheran Church”