I grew up in church and have always struggled with how to engage with Halloween, from being terrified as a child, to wanting to join in, phases of avoiding it like the plague, to wishing I could do something positive with it, and then pretending it didn't exist. But didn't know where to start until my kids started taking an interest last year. I told them it was dark, nasty stuff and as Christians, we don't want to join in with that.
A few weeks ago my youngest (nearly 6) said, "I know you're afraid of Halloween Mummy, but I'm not! why do we have to hide away?" Which was when I realised I needed to give them a better narrative; that we don't need to fear because Jesus beats the darkness, and to engage with this is a great opportunity to be light and joy in our community, like we try to do the rest of the year.
I heard Nay speaking on a podcast and finally felt confident enough to give it a go so we made a sign for the window, carved our happy pumpkins, lined the path to our front door with fairy lights, (all fun half term activities!) and bought a bag of sweets and some tracts from the PfE website. We had so many families knocking on our door, several we knew from school or from the area, but also many we didn't. The parents were so grateful and the little ones so pleased. My girls were a bit nervous about who might come to the door, but grew in confidence as the time went on and we had several comments on the Christian messaging in our decor.
I posted a few pics on facebook and had Christian friends reach out to say they were praying for us on the night, or that it gave them the confidence to try something next year. How lovely would it be if our neighbours went from house to house receiving light and kindness from all the Christians that live near them? What preconceptions might that challenge, or barriers to church even be broken down?
We were distinct in our street. Our next door neighbours both sides commented on how happy it looked. One of them is coming to our evangelistic bonfire night event at church a week later
I think we had more positive interaction with people on our estate in those two hours than the last 12 months. The leaflets ran out very quickly, and after 90 minutes we put a sign on the door saying our sweets had run out, moved the pumpkins indoors and sat down for a cuppa and to thank God. It's honestly the first time in my life I have actually enjoyed the 31st October, and I am looking forward to next year rather than dreading it.
Thank you for the inspiration and the reminder of Jesus' command that we are to be giving light to the world; not hidden under a bush or a bowl, but lighting the whole house, shining out in the places God has put us and offering a better, more beautiful, sweeter gift than anything the world can give.
