NeuroDivine

Saints | All Saints’ Day | LM | 1 November

The saints still walk our winding ways,
And bless our nights and brighten days;
Through every age God’s love has shone,
In lives that made His mercy known.

2.
By holy wells and mountain streams,
In whispered prayers and waking dreams,
The faithful found God’s guiding light,
And kept their watch through darkest night.

3.
Like rowan bright and ancient oak,
Whose roots hold fast though branches soak,
The Church stands firm through storm and rain,
And sings Christ’s endless praise again.

4.
The fox along the hedgerow strays,
The mallard threads the waterways,
The goldcrest flashes through the briar,
Like scattered sparks of holy fire.

5.
Not crowned alone in heaven above,
But known by acts of faith and love,
They call us onward, hand in hand,
As pilgrims through this sea-girt land.

6.
Until beneath heaven’s boundless dome,
The saints and all God’s folk come home;
One countless host with voices raised,
For ever loved and ever praised.

Alternative Lines for General and Non-Liturgical Use

This hymn celebrates the communion of all God’s people. For congregations, ecclesias, or fellowships that do not observe the liturgical calendar or traditional shrines, the following variations keep the focus on our shared pilgrimage of faith and humble discipleship:

• Verse 2, line 1:
  “By quiet glens and mountain streams…”
• Verse 5, line 1:
  “Not seeking honour here below…”

Reflection

All Saints’ Day can sometimes lead us to think first of famous holy people, their names preserved in calendars, icons, and stained glass. Yet the feast is larger than any list of heroes. It celebrates God’s grace at work in human lives, and the countless ways holiness appears in the world.

The saints are not distant figures inhabiting a spiritual realm far removed from our own. They are fellow members of Christ’s Body, united with us in worship, prayer, and praise. Their witness reminds us that ordinary lives, offered to God in faith and love, can become places where divine light shines.

That conviction lies behind this hymn. Its imagery is rooted in the Irish landscape: holy wells, mountain streams, rowan trees, ancient oaks, hedgerows, waterways, and briars. These are not merely decorative details. They suggest that God’s presence may be encountered in familiar places, and that the story of faith is woven through the ground beneath our feet.

The goldcrest carries particular significance for me. Small and easily overlooked, it flashes suddenly among the branches, a gleam of gold where one least expects it. In my imagination, it has become a Eucharistic symbol, hinting at Christ’s hidden yet radiant presence. Like the sacrament itself, the goldcrest does not demand attention, but invites recognition.

All Saints’ Day calls us not simply to admire holiness but to participate in it. The saints encourage us to become what, by baptism, we already are: God’s people, walking together in faith, hope, and love. Their song is not finished. It rises afresh whenever Christ’s people gather, pray, serve, and praise.

Perhaps that is why the saints still seem to walk our winding ways. Not because they belong to the past, but because in Christ we share the same journey, the same calling, and the same song.

Hymn Information

First line: The saints still walk our winding ways
Text: Michael McFarland Campbell
Metre: LM
Tune: Church Triumphant
Theme: All Saints’ Day (1 November)
Scripture: Psalm 1:1-3; Psalm 119:105; Matthew 5:1-12; John 14:1-3; Acts 2:1-4; Hebrews 12:1, 22-24; Ephesians 2:19-22; Revelation 7:9-17
NDH-359

© Michael McFarland Campbell. 2026.
Permission granted for local church or parish use with attribution. Not for commercial reproduction.