Among the old hymns I enjoy singing, not least as it has a great tune, is this one:

For all the saints, who from their labours rest,

Who Thee, by faith, before the world confessed,

Thy name, oh Jesus, be forever blessed,

Alleluia, alleluia

A song that gives us permission to celebrate those who went before us, and who perhaps have influenced us in our own faith story.  I find it good, now and then, to pause and call to mind the 'saints' I've met along the way, some still with us, others in God's everlasting arms.

Another favourite from childhood day's is "I sing a song of the saints of God" with its refreshing earthy-ness.  And I like this contemporary re-write by sone friends in Manchester:

I sing a song of the saints of God,
Patient and brave and true,
Who toiled and fought and lived and died
For the Lord they loved and knew.
And one was homeless, and one was old,
And one was a traveller in the cold:
And with God by my side all the way I'll be bold,
For I mean to be one too.

They loved their Lord, who gave his life
And his love made them strong
And to follow his way was their delight
Though they sometimes got it wrong.
And one was a minister, and one was a nun,
And one was a child whose life was just begun,
And with Christ before, the race I'll run
For I mean to be one too.

They lived not only in ages past,
There are hundreds and thousands still;
Though the road may be rough and the workers few,
Who seek to do Jesus' will.
Yet still they are here and they urge us on
Whether young or old, whether here or gone,
For the saints of God look like you and like me
And I mean to be one too

©Clare McBeath & Tim Presswood, 2006

All saints - all of us, walking with Jesus, best we can, let's take a moment to celebrate that too.