Break out your Bibles, Halloween’s coming.A lot of churches have co-opted Halloween to create an outreach event for the community, but they don't get silly and self-righteous about it.
That’s the message from a Calgary pastor, promoting an initiative called Jesus Ween that aims to turn standard Oct. 31 activities on their head.
“I don’t believe Halloween represents anything close to God or close to Christianity,” says Paul Ade, who has been doling out Bibles instead of sugary treats since 2002.
Now, the 40-year-old wants others to follow suit and has made contact through letters and phone calls to approximately 3,200 North American churches.
“I would say we have received about 70 per cent support,” Ade said.
Participants are also encouraged to ditch the skimpy nurse and pirate outfits and instead wear white clothing to symbolize righteousness.
For nine years I sang at a "Pumpkin Patch" event at a church in Bellflower that usually drew over 1,000 people from the surrounding neighborhood. There were all kinds of games for kids in which they won candy just for playing, there were free family photos taken by church members, music by my quartet, and puppet show Bible stories for anyone that wanted to watch them. It was all a lot of fun and helped the church be a good neighbor.
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