Chewymom

We opted out of our church’s Reformation Day party this year. To my knowledge, this is only the second year our church has held one, and interestingly it is not really advertised other than bulletin inserts for about a month before the date. I appreciate the love of the adults planning the party–they adore the children in our church and want them to have a good time. But I have to ask, what is the purpose of a Reformation Day party? And how does that mesh with a missional church? And does it place unnecessary pressure upon the children (and adult and teen helpers) to give up an activity that they might otherwise participate in, and that might provide opportunities to meet neighbors?

Our family has gone through a personal transformation in our view of Halloween. You can read about it here, but we have gone from hiding in our house, pretending Halloween didn’t exist, to attending church festivals, to trick-or-treating. We have looked forward to trick-or-treating this year. When else can you wander the neighborhood, knock on doors, and chat with the neighbors without appearing odd or too forward? When else do neighbors pour into the streets, knocking on your door, and poking their heads in to introduce themselves? I can’t think of another time!

Some people may live in less-than-friendly neighborhoods, and I know that would present a challenge. But in the context of being part of a church that claims that it wants to reach out to our neighbors and friends, and ultimately to the city, some creativity may be needed. And in my opinion, that creativity does not come in the form of a Reformation Day party that is advertised only within the doors of the church. That is called insulating yourself against the neighbors and whatever you view as the evils of Halloween. If your neighborhood is not trick-or-treater friendly, perhaps you need to find a few neighbors and join forces to have some games and a bouncy contraption in the front yard. Or invite some neighbors over for a dress-up party! Or try to find a few houses with the lights on, knock on their doors, and then go to a nearby neighborhood.

I realize that some churches have a huge outreach-oriented party, and that is great! Some churches in our town do as well. It might be interesting to take a poll and see how many of the families that attend are from your own church, and how many are from outside of the church community. If you find that your church is not truly reaching out to others, and if it is your desire to meet, get to know, and ultimately reach out to your neighbors, then I suggest showing yourself to be friendly and interested in them. And what better time to begin that than on a holiday where your visit is welcome?

Here is my trick-or-treating gang:

DS9 and two friends went as the Blue Man Group:

And then DD5 and her daddy went as the Princess Bride and the Dread Pirate Roberts:

A great time (and buckets of candy) was had by all!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 31st, 2007 at 8:01 pm and is filed under Biblical Thinking, This and That. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.