What are your thoughts on Halloween?
It seems one of those topics that can stir up a lot of contention, anxiety and controversy in church – for us growing up it was always simply ‘we don’t do that because we are Christian.’ We hear of the dangers of trivialising evil or engaging with spiritual forces without thought. We want our children to know what it is to be distinctive for Jesus in this world. We want to reach our communities without being seen to compromise our faith.
One response from many churches is the ‘Light Party’ – a chance for joy and celebration, often in our church buildings, where we can share Jesus’ light away from any association with the season.
“We want to reach our communities without
being seen to compromise our faith.”
But what if Jesus was nudging us to go a little further? After all, this is the Jesus who didn’t seem to shy away from eating with tax collectors and ‘sinners’. Who chose Caesarea Phillipi, according to many sources a hotbed of pagan worship, to first share with his followers who he was and declare the building of the church (Matt 16:13-20). Maybe we are called to step out and engage and shine at times like Halloween, whatever we make of what’s going on around us.
This is what we’ve tried to do the last few years – setting up on the Estate on the night of October 31st, handing out treats, meeting people where they’re at, and sharing light and hope. We found it immensely fruitful. In fact, the first thing I’ve noticed is how Halloween brings out this amazing sense of intergenerational community on the estate with young children, teenagers, and parents all out and enjoying being together. The second is when you choose to be present and a blessing, how much opportunity there is to share hope with people, pointing them to the true light of the world. The third is the power of tapping into some of the liturgical and ancient traditions of the church to share meaning today with our neighbourhood.
“When you choose to be present and a blessing,
how much opportunity there is to share hope with people,
pointing them to the true light of the world.”
All Hallows Eve may or may not have been co-opted by Christians from a pagan festival, but it seems to have been a time where light was celebrated as the dark evenings drew in, possibly also a time where poorer people could call on their rich neighbours and ask for treats. It was certainly a time when the church prepared for two important feast days: 1st November – All Saints – celebrating the heroes of the faith who’d gone before, and 2nd November – All Souls, remembering all who have died and been lost to us.
At ‘Light in the Night,’ which is what we call our Halloween event, we use our Community Board and ask people to write up their heroes, and those they have lost or those they miss. It’s an incredible spiritual opportunity to celebrate those in our lives who inspire us, but equally to open space to be real about our pain, our loss and our grief. Sometimes we invite people to turn on an electronic candle or write a loved one’s name on a laminated picture of a candle, trusting that we are stepping into a thin space, where heaven might reach out and meet our neighbourhood in its grief as well as its joy.
We hand out treat packs to all the children/young people/adults who want one! Each pack has been prayerfully put together by a member of the church. It doesn’t just contain sweets but a simple verse from the Bible about light, sharing both that Jesus is the light of the world, and that we have the potential to shine with God’s light ourselves. We give invitations to our All Saints celebration, which is always the next day, in the same place, out on the estate. This is a day of prayer for our neighbourhood that we normally call our ‘Saints and Heroes prayer space’. It’s a time when we pray whilst litter picking, dressing up in hero masks, sharing communion and creating space for people to turn towards God.
Being present on Halloween night and not hiding away gives us the relationship and confidence to invite people to engage more deeply in prayer and the life of the church. We trust God to use those seeds we sow in God’s time and God’s way. There is something beautifully prophetic about our gazebo adorned with fairy lights and camping torches on what some consider a ‘dark’ night. There’s something wonderful about God’s people being present with hot drinks, treats and welcome. Something powerful about the willingness of people to grow community together.
“If the church spent less time pointing the finger at what is wrong in the neighbourhood and more time being present and sharing hope, we might better point people to Jesus after all.”
Of course, it’s important to resist evil. Of course, it’s important to be distinctive and to say no to some of the things around us. But maybe sometimes if the church spent less time pointing the finger at what is wrong in the neighbourhood and more time being present and sharing hope, we might better point people to Jesus after all.
How does your church mark All Hallows Eve? We’d love to hear your ideas! If you haven’t before, why not be bold and step out in some simple way this year to meet some of your neighbours where they are at and to shine bright with the light of Christ!
Perhaps you’d like to pray with me:
Light of the world, thank you that you entered our darkness, our sin, our grief and our pain.
As the evenings get longer and the nights darker, help us remember you are ever present as the light we all need.
Jesus, help us all remember that you also said to each of us, ‘You are the light of the world.’ Help us to shine with your light, on Halloween night and every night, so that our neighbourhoods might see that they too can shine brightly.
Amen.