Bishop Alison Taylor
2 November 2025
November is always a busy month. Christmas preparations are already underway in the shops and in our homes. Schools are preparing for end-of-year events, holidays are being planned, and parishes are gearing up both for the annual meeting and for Advent.
But November has so much else to offer. Just look at the riches of our church calendar!
Right at the beginning of the month is the wonderful celebration of All Saints. That is the occasion when we give thanks to God “for all the saints who from their labours rest”, in the words of the famous hymn For all the saints.
It’s a thanksgiving for the named saints we know about, but also for all the saintly people known to God alone. They are often ordinary people – not famous – who have faithfully but quietly served our Lord in the midst of their daily lives. It is a celebration of that “blest communion, fellowship divine”.
All Saints’ Day is followed by All Souls’ Day, also known as the “Commemoration of the Faithful Departed”. Please don’t confuse this with the commercialised Halloween! This is not about spooks and skeletons. It is a quiet and intimate time for the church to give people the opportunity to remember before God the people they have loved, and the people who have nurtured them in the faith by their teaching or example.
There are also a number of interesting saints who are remembered throughout November. They include Leo of Rome, bishop and teacher (died 461); Martin, soldier and Bishop of Tours (died 387); Charles Simeon, the 19th century English Evangelical cleric; the seventh century Abbess Hilda of Whitby; and the pioneer Aboriginal deacon, James Noble, who died in 1941.
A major November saint, the apostle St Andrew, is usually celebrated on 30 November. This year though, 30th November is the first Sunday of Advent – the start of the new church year – so Andrew’s commemoration has been transferred to 1 December.
This year too, 30th November is very significant for us in this diocese, as we will be welcoming our next Archbishop, Dr Ric Thorpe, at his installation that day.
The week before that, the church year will close with the celebration of Christ the King, also known as the Reign of Christ. Before we begin the new year by once more looking for the coming of the Messiah in Advent, we close the ‘old’ year by proclaiming Christ’s universal sovereignty.
At a time of world insecurity, this reminder that Christ’s reign is supreme over all others offers us great hope!
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