The 10:30 Service can be viewed online : HERE
A copy of November 4th Thursday Thoughts can be viewed: HERE
November 4, 2021
Dear Congregation:
Throughout Christian history, the church has and continues to remember and celebrate the lives of faithful people who have died.
The German word, Totensonntag, translates to “Sunday of the Dead.” The name indicates the fact that the holiday always falls on the Sunday before Advent. You might also hear the holiday referred to as Ewigkeitssonntag, which means “Eternity Sunday,” or as Totenfest.
Totensonntag is a federal holiday in Germany and the Netherlands. It’s the day of the year when Protestant Christians commemorate their dead. The date is especially devoted to family and community members who have passed in the last few years. To this day, in parts of Germany, families will visit the graves of loved ones to clean off the summer flowers and cover the graces with evergreens for the winter.
Our friends in Inden and Langerwehe mark this Sunday with communion and the reading of the names of those who have died in their parish. They share the age of the person who has died and light a candle in their memory. One year they put a pine branch on the altar for each name which was then woven into the advent wreath we started using on the first Sunday in Advent.
The tradition of Totenfest, “Feast of the Dead,” was common in the German reformed tradition. Our church has continued to remember those who have died by reading their names during a Sunday Service, although we have moved the tradition to the first Sunday in November as All Saints Sunday rather than the last Sunday in Pentecost.
This Sunday, we will remember those who have gone before us with a special presentation by Pastor Emeritus, Rev. Fred Wenner, at 9:30 in the Community Room. At the 10:30 service, we will be reading aloud the names of church members and your beloved family members and friends who have died since last November 1st.
Come, remember, and give thanks for the communion of saints.
Rev. Dr. Barbara Kershner Daniel, Senior Pastor
Evangelical Reformed Church, United Church of Christ
15 West Church Street, Frederick, MD 21701
301-662-2762
E-mail: bkdaniel@erucc.org
