Quite a few years ago, parents of young trick-or-treat aged children who were congregants where I was pastor at the time were particularly anxious about Halloween. The concern was that scary costumes and decorations could have an evil influence on their children. The anxiety they experienced seemed to escalate among their friends and neighbors.

As I remembered my hospital chaplain training, keeping calm to help manage their anxieties, I decided not to fight the fear of demons at Halloween. Rather, I suggested to the parents in the church that we emphasize the importance of All Saints Day. All Saints Day, celebrated on November 1, is a feast day observing all the saints of the church, both known and unknown, and it is often a time when we communally celebrate our loved ones who have passed. As the history of Halloween began as a mixture of Celtic religious ideas and Christian martyrology, I believed our concentrating on All Saints Day as a parish would be a much healthier focus of our energy and allow for education and growth. I knew our strategy had succeeded when some of the church children dressed as saints of the church that year for Halloween. Others dressed as reformers and well-known leaders of the church: Martin Luther, John Knox, John and Charles Wesley.

I am in favor of celebrating Halloween. I believe it is healthy for us to recall with respect, reverence, and fun, those who have shown us a better way – the teachers, friends, family members, fictional characters, philanthropists, community service workers, entrepreneurs, athletes, and pop icons. We can inspire our imaginations, and we can engage with our neighbors in a way that promotes creativity, silliness, and a sense of wonder.

What I know as an adult is that evil never looks like the costumes that might scare little kids. Evil could be displayed as something attractive, as we see in the Amazon Prime version of the Tolkien story, The Rings of Power. The character Sauron offers the other characters in the story power for “good;” however, the result is greed, betrayal, and violence. Evil can be dishonesty, selfishness, or causing harm. Evil exists; but so does good. When considering the celebration of Halloween, I think it is important to pause to remember that although there are “monsters” out there, there are also princesses and superheroes – and most significantly, God is with us in the midst of it all.

This Halloween at Kirkwood, we are preparing for our annual Trick-or-Treat Apartment Sweep. Residents who choose to participate will hand out candy to family members, staff, and community friends. Kids will roam the halls with excitement and anticipation, and our residents always light up with joy. We will eat candy. And whether dressed as villain or hero, we will greet one another with love, with gratitude, and with a “Happy Halloween.”

Peace,

Cary