Author Thomas Lynch Comes to All Saints

Michigan native, poet, author and undertaker Thomas Lynch will launch our Lenten educational series on the spirituality of the end of life.

Author of "The Undertaking: Tales from the Dismal Trade" as well as other books of essays and poems, Lynch has a deep, yet whimisical approach to the craft of tending to the dead and their families. We are delighted that he'll join us at All Saints.

Bring a friend, because all are welcome to this event. Tomorrow night, Wednesday, March 4, at 7 p.m. in the main sanctuary. The evening actually begins with a service of Healing and Holy Eucharist at 5:30 p.m. in the chapel, followed by our Lenten soup supper at 6 p.m. in the Undercroft.

See you there!

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More Reporting on Day of the Dead

The State News, MSU's student paper, is expanding into multimedia reporting. Here is a great video report on last weekend's Day of the Dead celebration, where you can see the dancing, hear the mariachis, and catch Nico Gisholt and Dori Helm talking about our celebration and how awesome the Episcopal Church is!

All Saints, All Souls, and Forgetting the Dead

Michigan author, poet and funeral director Thomas Lynch writes in the New York Times about the ongoing American project to forget death.

He writes: "The dead get buried but we seldom see a grave. Or they are burned, but few folks ever see the fire. Photographs of coffins returned from wars are forbidden, and news coverage of soldiers’ burials is discouraged. Where sex was once private and funerals were public, now sex is everywhere and the dead go to their graves often as not without witness or ritual."

But the feast we just celebrated, which stretches from All Hallows' Eve (Halloween), through All Saints' Day (November 1) and All Souls' Day (November 2), provides a tonic to this cultural amnesia.

"All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day are time set aside to broker peace between the living and the dead. Whether you are pagan or religious, Celt or Christian, New Age believer or doubter-at-large, these are the days when you traditionally acknowledge that the gone are not forgotten."

The entire essay is well worth a read. Lynch himself is well worth getting to know better, in print -- and in person, here at All Saints on Wednesday, March 4, when he opens our Lenten educational program on the Spirituality and Practicality of Death.

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Catrinas, Calaveras, Tacos and Mariachis

Laugh at death. Cry a little as you remember lost loved ones. Dance to mariachi music and enjoy the flavors of Mexico at our second annual Day of the Dead fiesta, this Saturday night from 6-9 p.m.

This year's celebration is a joint effort between All Saints and Canterbury-MSU, the student ministry. We'll have catered food from Los Tres Amigos, Hispanic dancers, a mariachi band, and a cultural presentation on the roots and customs of this Mexican tradition. In Mexico, these days surrounding All Saints Day (November 1) are celebrated with parades, feasts, and all night vigils in local cemeteries. It is a way of saluting death and remembering those who have gone before, but with joy and celebration, not just mourning.

The centerpiece of the event is a community altar, where we can put items that honor our deceased loved ones ... a photograph, a toy, a favorite soda ... so that we remember those we have loved and lost, and invite them to our fiesta, too.

The event is free and open to everyone! Bring a friend! And bring a canned good to donate to Cristo Rey Community Center.

The celebration will conclude Sunday at 5 p.m. with a bilingual worship service held in conjunction with the Canterbury-MSU student ministry. Join us for Dia de los Muertos, this weekend.

Making Decisions For Your Care

Last night's session on making advanced directives for your health care was very good. We all learned some things, like Michigan does not recognize living wills. So it is important to designate someone to be your health care advocate in case of an accident or some other event when you cannot make your own decisions about care.

Dan Layman and Lars Egede-Nissen, two of our parishioners, are on staff at Hospice of Lansing and they shared some excellent resources. The American Bar Association has a tool kit for planning on its website. This will take you through all sorts of thought processes that can help you identify who would be the best advocate for you, what your values and needs might be, and how to communicate your decisions to your family and physicians.

Also, the Michigan Legislature has prepared a booklet that will help you legally designate an advocate. It's called "Planning for your Peace of Mind," and can be obtained from any legislator. Most of us are represented by Mark Meadows. His office can send you some of these booklets.

Another booklet called Five Wishes can be ordered online for $5. This is a very user-friendly tool to think through your values and desires for care at the end of life. It is a legal designation of your wishes in the state of Michigan, if it is accompanied by a state acceptance form signed by your health care advocate.

The Episcopal Church's stance on end of life care can be found here.

Finally, you can always call me if you would like to pre-plan your funeral service. We have a form here in the office at All Saints that will help you select readings and hymns and outline the kind of memorial you hope to have. Copies of all your directives and wishes can also be kept here at church. I have a private drawer with folders of people's Last Wishes to be referred to at the time of their death or terminal illness.