What I always find interesting about November is that the Church calendar provides a series of festivals that serves as a reminder to us that the body of Christian believers not only has members around the world but also back in time to the earliest centuries of the faith. Together we are part of a great cloud of witnesses, testifying to a Christ who has died, has risen and will come again.
The month starts with the feasts of All Saints and All Souls and then moves on to the Saints and Martyrs of the Anglican Communion on November 4th. But the Saints of Wales also get a mention at this time of the year.
Some of the more well-known Welsh saints such as St David and St Catwg get their own day but to ensure no-one is overlooked, the lesser festival of the Saints of Wales is celebrated on November 8th. This special day celebrates saints such as Elli, Issui, Cynidr and Cenau-just to give some examples from my local area.
Walking as I do on pilgrimages that begin and end at my home in the area of the Brecon Beacons, I have lots of opportunities to visit churches dedicated to these and other saints of Wales whose stories still witness to us from that distant Age of the Saints roughly a millennium and a half ago.
Their witness may seem something of a whisper to us today but as we visit and worship in the ancient churches of Wales, may we remember that our testimony is, in the light of eternity, shared with them.