All Saints Sunday at St. Mark’s

We remembered loved ones, who–though we no longer see them–are visible among us in many ways

On Sunday, November 3rd, St. Mark’s observed the feasts of All Saints and All Souls (also known as the Day of the Dead/el Día de los Muertos), which fell on the two days prior. As is our custom, we recited the names of all those buried in our Memorial Garden as well as those buried from the church and anyone in our wider family whom we have lost in the past calendar year.

In her sermon, Joan talked about a project undertaken by our church school to make get-well cards for a parishioner who is currently home-bound following a hospitalization, which feature their drawings of the beautiful benches he and his son rehabilitated for us.

Quoting the Rt. Rev. Steven Charleston, the retired Bishop of Alaska and a Choctaw elder, she emphasized the importance of generations caring for each other even beyond the bounds of earthly life.

At communion, parishioner Onyinye Ekwueme gave a beautiful rendition of Alfred Haye Malotte’s “The Lord’s Prayer” accompanied by Director of Music George Wesner

Following the service, we had the flag-raising to begin our observance of Native American History Month. Our slides on Zoom for November will include representation from the many indigenous groups who are a part of the Episcopal Church across the Americas, including the Ramapough/Munsee community who are descendants of the Lenape people who once called Bergen County home, and some of whom are members of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Ringwood. We count Native Americans among the many ethnicities and cultures represented at St. Mark’s

After the somber liturgy, we gathered in Carroll Hall for a festive coffee hour sponsored by the vestry.