Here is the story from last Sunday:
I brought something today to talk about.

You see a lot of these this time of year, why is that? Are skeletons scary? Are they monsters?
Do you have a skeleton?

One thing that makes skeletons different from monsters like vampires and zombies that you see as decorations and costumes on October 31st, is that zombies and vampires are make believe, but each of us has a real skeleton. Real skeletons can't go walking about all by themselves, but the skeleton you have inside your body is the thing that allows your leg muscles to walk you around. Your skeleton is the framework that all your muscles are attached to. Without your skeleton bones, your muscles would just blob around and you couldn't move, talk or eat. Your hard bones and your soft muscles make a good team.
If you think about it, this whole sanctuary is filled with skeletons!

So why is it that skeletons, this really useful part of our bodies, have become a scary symbol?

Maybe it's because when a creature dies, the soft parts of the body naturally decompose first and become part of the earth and part of the cycle of life. A creature's hard skeleton will remain long after all the rest has decomposed. So a skeleton reminds people of death.

It's a reminder that living things die.

In the Big Room upstairs we have a few skeletons that you can look at....skeletons of coral and barnacles and other sea creatures.
If you spend some time in a garden, and you look carefully and closely, and you are lucky, you may find the skeleton of a life that has passed on. In my gardens I've found empty snail shells, and a bird skull.
Insect skeletons are interesting because all insects have skeletons on the outside of their bodies, not inside like us. Their outsides are hard, but everything inside them is soft. Sometimes you can find the white translucent exoskeleton of a grasshopper or a praying mantis. Insects, as they grow, shed their exoskeletons in the way a snake sheds its skin, leaving behind these fragile insect shaped empty hollow forms.*
Leaves occasionally even leave behind skeletons. A leaf doesn't have bones, but sometimes the soft tissue of a leaf will decay around the stiffer, tougher fibers of the veins. This leaves behind a delicate lacy leaf shape.

All of these skeletons are the parts of living creatures. They are what remains long after those lives have died and passed on.

There is another part of living creatures which lasts long after they have died. That part is our memories.
When we remember the life of someone whom we have treasured, someone who's life has ended here on earth, but who's life has been important to us, we are doing something very important. We are insuring that some of the best parts of that life stay with us. We can remember family members and friends who have passed on. We can remember pets we have loved. We can even recall a tree that gave us shade or fruit, but is now gone. We can remember the people whom we have never even met, but who spent their lives in the effort of leaving behind a better world. These can be the artists and thinkers and doers whose work has touched our lives.

When we tell stories, look at pictures, listen to music, bring flowers or candles, draw pictures...write stories...we are doing a much better job of honoring the life we want to remember than if we keep a skeleton in the closet!
This is what our Day of the Dead celebration today is all about.

*Clarification thanks to Kim Labinger!