All
the Saints
Saturday November 1st,
the Minster Church of All Saints
here in Dewsbury, and all our
other churches celebrate the
feast of All Saints.
Our
scriptures and history books are
full of the good deeds of many
great saints. Saint George, a
soldier, and the Patron Saint of
England is reputed to have slain
a dragon, and we often see his
flag, with a red cross on a
white background, flying in
support of the English football
team.
St
Andrew, Patron Saint of
Scotland, was a fisherman, the
brother of Simon Peter, and one
of the apostles of Jesus. St
David, Patron Saint of Wales was
a monk and a bishop in the sixth
century, who founded several
monasteries in that country. St
Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland
was captured by Irish slave
traders. He returned much later
to spread the Christian gospel
there.
St
Paulinus, apostle to the north,
came to Dewsbury in 627 AD,
accompanying Princess Ethelburga
from Kent when she came to marry
the local king Edwin, and they
are depicted in a stained glass
window in the Town Hall.
Paulinus converted the pagan
king to Christianity, then
baptised many other converts in
our local rivers.
We
remember many saints throughout
the ages, such as St Boniface
who gave us Christmas trees, St
Valentine, whose day reminds us
of romantic love, St Francis of
Assisi who founded an order of
Friars and is reputed to have
preached to wild animals, St
Teresa of Avila who gave us a
lovely prayer about being
Christ’s hands and feet in the
world, and many others. We may
consider more recent martyrs or
workers for Christ, such as
Martin Luther King, or Mother
Teresa also to be worthy of
Sainthood, and we give thanks
for their lives.
God
is love, and his Holy Spirit
works through those who love him
to make this world a better
place. At his time of year, let
us joyfully celebrate the feast
of all those who have dedicated
their lives to bringing God’s
love into this world, and seek
to do so ourselves.
By Anne
Robinson, Dewsbury Team Parish.
On behalf of the Churches
Together in Dewsbury.
