A Tale of Three Saints

November 1st is the Day in the Church Calendar Year that we celebrate All Saints Day. In the Episcopal Church, it is one of 7 feasts in the Liturgical Year: Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, and Trinity Sunday, with All Saints Day being the last feast of the year before we start the Liturgical Year over with Advent.

In our tradition, we honor ALL SAINTS, both known and unknown, those recognized for great deeds, and those of us who might be considered common or ordinary Christians, all those alive, but also those who have gone on before us and now reside “in Glory.”

Thus, it is important to recognize our place in the eternal scheme. We are all beloved Children of God. Jesus went to prepare a place for us, no matter who we are, who the world thinks we are or who we think we are. Just the same, to honor the efforts and steadfastness of those in our midst or passed on as ones who “kept the faith,” is inspiring for the rest of us still living out our salvation.

1- A Passionate Teen-Ager

To illustrate the value of an every day saint, Father Don recounted the history and the story behind our parish on All Saints Day 2026. Back in the 1860’s, a young ordinary teenaged girl with extraordinary faith was living on the Northside, then known as Allegheny City. This spunky teen’s dedication to God prompted her to want to start a Sunday School for young girls. Her parents did not want their young daughter traveling to downtown Pittsburgh to Trinity Cathedral to take on this project. So they suggested she conduct the Sunday School in the family dining room.

By following her parents’ directives, she ended up reaching out to many girls in her neighborhood. As more and more children came, and their parents with them, the dining room soon blessedly became too crowded! The family had to move the gathering to the local YMCA for more space. Eventually, this group of congregants was noticed by the First Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, John Barrett Kerfoot, ~ 1866. He formed a group of men, naturally, to consider planting a parish in Allegheny City to accommodate the new believers the teen had attracted. The location and building design were planned by this committee, and built in 1868, but when it came to naming the parish, the wise Bishop offered the naming rights to the young woman responsible for its beginnings. When asked what to name the church, she replied, “Emmanuel,” of course. It is obvious that God is with us.” Indeed, He is. We honor this teen on All Saints Day, grateful for her desire to share the love of God – still with us!

2- A Visionary Mom

During the same time period as our parish was envisioned by the teen, another young woman had a love of God and a vision. Margaret, “Maggie” Juliet Franklin, 31, a wife and mother of two, led a women’s Bible study in a Manhattan, New York, parish known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Margaret, seeking a deeper, more passionate relationship with Christ and His church, called a meeting of the group on the eve of Easter, 1885. The purpose of the meeting was to “arouse their interest and urge their cooperation as a class of definite workers for Christ and His church.” This group of women began calling themselves “Daughters of the King,” and would become incorporated and known as “The Order of the Daughters of the King^®,” with lifetime vows of Prayer, Service and Evangelism for the Spread of Christ’s Kingdom. (The Order’s Mission)

There are now ~20,000 Daughters worldwide, across all 50 states and in 24 countries. Because of Margaret Franklin, women everywhere still respond to a call to dedicate their lives to these vows and meet to support each other to live a Christlike life.

Emmanuel has a small group of these “Daughters” and so it was appropriate that these women would renew their vows on All Saints Day in honor of Margaret Franklin. These particular “Daughters” are not young, except at heart, and ever ready to respond to God’s call. See the original post on the Daughters of the King at Emmanuel.

3 – A Radical Educator

The “Emmanuel Chapter” of the Daughters of the King was dormant for some years, but in 2013, Chapter #200 was revived on Christ the King Sunday with 5 initial members under the new name “Verna Dozier Chapter,” in honor of another woman dedicated to promoting Christ’s Kingdom especially through Bible Study. In a parish with a mix of races and cultures, Verna Dozier, a courageous black woman, way head of her time, and a forward thinker and woman of deep faith, was chosen. Verna defied many odds (and white men in high places) to become an inspiration to “Daughters” and men and women all over the Episcopal Church and beyond.

Ordinary Saints

All these saints were ordinary people who simply followed the promptings of the Holy Spirit. God did the rest. We never know what our faith may prompt any of us to do “for the spread of Christ’s Kingdom,” but we can be sure that God will use every act of devotion. We don’t all have to do great things but we must trust that anything with a mustard seed of faith can move mountains we can’t imagine.

Image from Desert Streams Ministries

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. ”
~ Ephesians 3:20-21

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