"Therefore do not let anyone condemn you in matters of food and drink or of observing festivals, new moons, or sabbaths."
Colossians 2:16
Today, I am thankful that The United Methodist Church doesn't see Halloween parties as things to be feared.
Growing up, I remember going to a Halloween party at Boston Avenue - maybe late elementary. I dressed as a Jawa costume from the movie, Star Wars which my brother Bob designed for me. It even came with a battery pack and I had glowing eyes. I think that I won the costume contest that evening.
The best part of the evening was the box maze they put together. We got to crawl around through all these cardboard passages in the dark and it was a ton of fun.
Later, when I was appointed to Piedmont, we perfected the box maze in the old white building that we had converted for the youth to occupy. We collected boxes for a couple of weeks and then we began to put it together. The youth would work on it a few hours at a time on Wednesdays and Sunday afternoons. When we finished, it ran though multiple rooms and even had a tunnel that went upstairs and down the other staircase.
During the church's Halloween carnival, kids had the best time going through the maze. If some of the kids were too scared to go, one of the youth would go with them with a flashlight. While they may have been scared going in, they all looked jubilant upon coming out and most wanted to go multiple times.
While a lot of pagan holidays have been converted by Christianity, we've never really tried to do much with Halloween. The name originates from All Hallow's Eve which refers to the night before All Saints Day in the liturgical calendar where we observe those who have died in the previous year on November 1.
When I was growing up, I did hear a lot from some churches about the evils of Halloween. I wasn't buying it as a kid and loved the dressing up and the free candy! I didn't see it as any kind of demonic influence (although today, the leftover candy at the house might qualify) but more as a fun time that came around once a year.
Today, most United Methodist churches seem to embrace Halloween as an outreach for the community. Many provide pumpkin patches for people to decorate while others observe Trunk or Treat in the church parking lot for the kids in their neighborhood.
Rather than promoting fear, we are saying, "We want to walk alongside you in your celebration." Our hope is that they'll want to walk alongside us for other things as well.
How does your church help you celebrate throughout life? How is this a part of sharing God's love with the community?
I still enjoy a good Halloween party. If you need help with a box maze for your church, let me know!
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| This is the original box maze crew in Piedmont! |
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