God and Ghoulies
These are two words that rarely seem to go together in the same sentence or thought—God and ghoulies. But they’re really a natural if you thing about it—God’s got the Holy Spirit that He is easy to posses us with, ghoulies are some kind of spirit thing, too, right? Or better yet, God is eager to have us connect with our communities, and churches doing ghoulie kinds of things around Halloween are a perfect opportunity to connect with our neighbors! After all, how often do we have kids and families from outside the church walls, eager to knock on our doors? Halloween is one of those rare exceptions!
You often hear of folks sharing some concerns about churches doing Halloween events, as it can seem like we’re supporting “the dark side.” But throughout the history of the Church, Church leaders have realized that taking somebody else’s party and making it our own is a wonderful way to connect with those who would not otherwise visit a church. Ever wondered why we celebrate Christmas on Dec. 25 when the Bible says nothing about when Jesus was born? Some researchers say it is because of a big pagan god’s birthday celebrated on Dec. 25 in Roman times—so rather than the Church being a downer and saying “DON’T celebrate” your god’s birthday, the Church saw this as an opportunity— “come party with us as we celebrate OUR God’s birthday!” And if you read through both the Old and New Testaments, you’ll see the God likes a good party too!
So Twin Falls is having a Halloween party in the form of a Trunk or Treat event, this Sunday afternoon from 4:30-6:30. Trunk or Treat is a simple but powerful thing—we bring treats to share with the neighborhood! And for our creative chefs, it’s a great opportunity to flex your cooking muscles with all kinds of creative snacks to bring (just type in “Halloween snacks” in your favorite search engine if you need some inspiration!).
It’s an outside event, so a great opportunity dress up your favorite furry friend to bring. If you’re a minimalist, just bring some treats! If you like getting more into the spirit, decorate up your car’s trunk for guests to enjoy! We never know how many might stop by, but it is similar to our Messy Church events, which have brought out anywhere from 15-25 folks, so that might be a good range to target if you’re sharing some of the fun from your kitchen.
Costumes are encouraged! But have a good story to go with it to add to the fun. I’m coming dressed as Lumiere from Beauty and the Beast—because Jesus is the Light of the world, and I’m gonna let my little light shine! Give Diane or myself a call if you’d like to COME and participate, or if you’d just like to share your kitchen magic, so we can make sure we have more than just ghost cookies (and certainly NOT Ghost Pepper cookies!).
We’re looking forward to it, and we hope to see you there! Pastor Jim
