Well it’s that time of year again when little ghosts and goblins come to your door trying to scare you. Mixed into this will be football players, firemen, princesses and your occasional screaming face along with an axe murderer or two. We happen to live on a street that is so into this celebration that realtors have to disclose what happens here on Halloween so there will be no surprises the first October after you buy a house on Oak Street. The police close off a 2-block stretch to traffic, which makes for a lot more peace of mind for parents. Believe me, the press of people is intense. We will purchase over $100 worth of candy and run out by 7:30.
We have heard that our neighbors are going to rig a disco ball this year over the street and hire a DJ to play music from their porch. It’s going to be a Masquerade Ball in the street.
Hopefully more Christians are getting over abdicating this holiday to the devil and running away from their homes. That’s one sure way to let him win. Remove your light from your house and your neighborhood.
I’m sure your street is not as intense as ours, but one thing is probably the same: the whole neighborhood will be out and about meeting neighbors and in some cases meeting people they have never spoken to until now. It would be a shame and I would go as far as to say a victory for the forces of darkness to allow the unfounded fears attached to Halloween to darken a home where Christ lives on the one night of the year the whole neighborhood is coming over.
John Fischer The Catch 
Excellent…we need to engage more.
Especially loved The Catch today!
Please check out what our church does to treat our community. And if you’re in the neighborhood, please come by and bring the kids.
Halapalooza! Candy! Candy! Candy!
How refreshing! In reference to Halloween, an elderly friend commented to me years ago, “We Christians are ruining a perfectly fun holiday.” Glad to see your neighborhood is still having fun, Christians included.
Years back I had ambivelent feelings regarding Halloween. Then I read a piece you wrote for CCM and it became clear to me that the spiritual conviction I thought I was experiencing was not that at all – rather it was believers imposing their ‘religious’ criteria on me. Fast forward to now. As Outreach Coordinator at my church, I am supervising a “Trunk Or Treat” event tonight. Once again I am hearing objections; ‘how can Christians celebrate a pagan, Satanic festival?’ The thing that bothers me about some of these objections is the sanctimonious, self-righteous attitude of those opinions – the insinuation that I am somehow less of a Christian, surely not a ‘good’ Christian if I participate in Halloween in any way. If you are truly under conviction by the Holy Spirit regarding Halloween, or any thing else for that matter, I have the utmost respect for your personal walk with the Lord. But, I believe the challenge for all of us is this – are we hearing the voice of the Lord…or only man’s opinion?
I cherish the memories I have with my kids dressing up and going to the other side of the lake. A very sweet Christian lady and her dear husband lived on the other side and she would make special treats because she knew that my kids would be coming. It still brings tears to my eyes. They are both gone now, but I know I will see them both again some day and we will have a great time remember those times!!
Thank you John for writing about Halloween and the need to be involved. For years my wife and I attended a Church that did not participate in this holiday of “Satan”. Since we have retired and have moved to a new location we also decided to become involved in a Church that is involved and for Halloween we do a thing called “trick or trunk” we will have about 15 cars in a circle at the Church with trunks filled with candy and a bondfire going in the center and in this way hope to engage the parents and the kids in a conversation and if we do get an opportunity to speak about our faith and or some of the programs the Church offers great, if not great anyway since we had an opportunity to be seen and heard.
Sounds great, but I still wonder who’s at home?
Thank you so much for this! My husband and I attended a church that preached fear of “the devil’s night”. I always enjoyed Halloween as a child and I still do today.
thanks so much for this positive response — and reminding us that ‘greater is HE that is with us, than he that is with them’ — why NOT capture a great opportunity to be LIGHT to our neighborhoods!
I partake in Halloween but I still struggle and wonder about us being in the world and not of the world. The Jews and early Christians stood out as different, set apart, because they did not partake in the pagan traditions around them. Halloween is a Pagan holiday, period. Sure we have commercialized it and watered it down but it is what it is……
Actually there are a lot of disagreements about the origins of Halloween. Some say it began as a sacred honoring of the dead. At any rate, these things are what we make them. I’m merely suggesting we use the opportunity to further Christ’s kingdom through relationships with our neighbors. This is not a hill to die on. There are so many things in our culture far more dangerous than Halloween that we swallow whole (like indiscriminately watching TV for a few hours a day).
Thanks Jon,
Share your same view. I always wondered how many of those people that didn’t particapate in Halloween, but participated in putting up a Pagan Christmas Tree.
Have a fun Treat or Treat. Treat them with the Love of our Lord Jesus.
Laurie
Once again, with these cultural issues, it’s not the thing itself but what you make of it.
10/29/10 We lived in Petaluma, CA for over 35 years on one of the most visited streets for Halloween. I realized that this was a great opportunity but I had to close the doors and turn off the lights after more than 100 children came or when I ran out of candy. I gave out nice portions of candy along with a Halloween story (tract) to every child for nearly all those years. I think only once did I find a couple of ‘stories’ discarded on our yard, sidewalk or the neighbor’s close by. I love Halloween and refuse to miss the opportunity of spreading God’s love this way. Margaret Davenport
Thank you. Nothing more needs to be said. Have fun. Be yourself. Be a light.
Love this post! And really appreciate your comments, “it’s what we make it.” Because of our location we don’t get trick-or-treaters so we head over to our church to participate and reach out to our neighbours there as we join in Trunk-or-Treat. A dozen decorated “trunks” or so parked down the block so the children can just walk right on down the block, get loaded up with candy, a track or two, and the parents even get coffee, cider, and donuts before heading off to finish their trick-or-treating.
I work in the education dept. of a state facility that is home to folks who live w/ developmental challenges – year after year the ‘fun’ grows larger – one dept. spends days converting an area into a hollywood-class haunted house that passes fire inspection before the ‘show’ opens -another group writes and puts on a stage show – and various folks assemble skits to put on around the grounds that are visited by a ‘hayride’ that stops for a quick ghoulish show – there are chainsaws, axe murderers and all kinds of evil available — and snacks and crafts for the younger folks – < see, the intended audience for all this hoopla is not so much the clients of the facility (though multiple performances are put on for them over several days before the big night) – but the friends and family of the staff – who are invited in one evening for free – just for fun and fellowship – well, almost free -we do ask all to bring a can of food or some offering for the food bank/women's shelter.. and the commeradrie among employees is a great benefit too–
I live a bit remotely – long driveway – small neighborhood – kind of an inconvenient trek in the dark for kids to make for a piece of candy – i've since stopped for many unrealated-to-the-evil reasons – but – the kids who did come up -faithfully year after year – came to see what 'fun' I had planned -the costume/scarey scene/ghoulish amplified music -and the big BOO – i provided -out of –idunno -love? to bring them joy…?
meh – you say it alot better:-)