Halloween & Harvest

Today was the first official planning meeting for the Community Harvest Walk. The churches are excited to once again be able to reach our community (especially our kids) with a safe place to spend Halloween. As always, bring in your candy!

I know there's a discussion to be had about how much (if anything) a church should do for Halloween. I understand both sides of the conversation: one the one end, I've been to Halloween parties; in the middle, I've dressed as Martin Luther at my church; and on the other end, my father temporarily banned anything to do with Halloween at the Peters house. (He also bought the first Harry Potter book specifically so I could read it and tell him how evil it was -- and now proudly wears his Gryffindor tie.) I've encountered voices in support of any and all of those positions and everywhere in-between. So when you voice your concerns about us doing a trunk-or-treat, I know and appreciate where you're coming from, what your heart is.

As someone who has made a study of such things as well as been personally involved in spiritual warfare, let me say that what we'll do for the Harvest Walk doesn't pose a problem in any respect for me. We're hosting our community, giving out safe candy, and showing some folks you can still have fun as a Christian. We're not participating in anything evil or satanic; we're not scaring anyone or trying to drag them into hell. Just the opposite, in fact: by being a safe, godly presence in our community on that night, we create an opportunity to share the gospel and lead them into heaven. That's why we take up prayer requests and host the Gideons to hand out Bibles.

I hope you'll join us on the 31st for the Harvest Walk. Come let your light shine to our neighbors!