All Souls/Days of the Dead

Nov 1, 2022 | Beacon, News

On Sunday, October 30, we gathered to commemorate All Souls Day/The Days of the Dead to honor our dearly departed. During the service, we invited everyone to participate in building a community altar by bringing their offerings, or ofrendas: pictures, flowers, mementos, paper marigolds, monarch butterflies, sugar skulls, and papel picado. What a blessing to share a Latin American tradition that unites us in a universal desire to honor the memory and celebrate the life of our loved ones in community. We called their names and we responded: Presente! They are here with us!

A Litany of Remembrance

By Rabbi Sylvan Kamens and Rabbi Jack Riemer

In the rising of the sun and in its going down,
We remember them.
In the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter,
We remember them.
In the opening of buds and in the rebirth of spring,
We remember them.
In the blueness of the sky and in the warmth of summer,
We remember them.
In the rustling of leaves and in the beauty of autumn,
We remember them.
In the beginning of the year and when it ends,
We remember them.
When we are weary and in need of strength,
We remember them.
When we are lost and sick at heart,
We remember them.
When we have joys we yearn to share,
We remember them.
So long as we live, they too shall live, for they are now a part of us,
As we remember them.

by Rev. Dr. María Cristina Vlassidis Burgoa