Celebrating the Saints

Halloween is yet another holiday observance that has been, ironically, shrouded in enormous confusion and conflagration of terms and concepts.  As a day that originally marked the day before the celebration of All Saints’ Day, during which those who had joined the church triumphant were fondly remembered, or hallowed.  Being the day before the celebration of saints, the day was designated All Saints’ Eve or All Hallowed’s Eve, which evolved into Halloween.  

    The association between Halloween and pranks is even more interesting and somewhat confusing.  As candy became associated with Halloween, those who did not provide candy were often subjected to pranks, or tricks, hence the phrase “trick-or-treat.”  In other words, “give us candy or you’ll get a trick played on you.”   Because All Saints’ Day was a time to remember those who had died, people who were uncomfortable with death may have experienced more anxiety around the time of these observances.  Thanatophobia refers to the fear of death. For some, pranks that focus upon this particular fear would be accompanied by skeletons, ghosts, blood, gore or other images associated with death. 

Because so many images of Halloween emphasize fear, some question the appropriateness of church’s hosting Halloween parties or “trunk-or-treat” festivities.   Rather than conceptualizing “trunk-or-treat” activities as a time to promote fear or tooth-decay, we interpret these activities as an opportunity to engage with the community and make people aware of the mission and the ministries of the church.  Each year, hundreds of children and families visit the church campus for the "trunk-or-treat" festivities.  In addition to providing candy, we will provide information and invitations to participate in the ministries of the church!

We are looking forward to this opportunity to highlight a few of the ways the church fulfills its mission.  We are also looking forward to strengthening the connections within the church by encouraging members to serve on teams with those they might not know as well as others.  

In Christ,
Jon McCoy