Hollow to Hallow

Halloween is an opportunity.  An opportunity for the religious to condemn and judge the outside world.  It is feared, shunned, and marginalized by folks afraid of it having a horrible impact on an unsuspecting world. I know this because I heard this. Most of my childhood. I may have even propagated the message among confused peers a time or two. 

It can be a day of fear.  A day of isolation. A day of hiding.

Halloween can also be a day for community.  What other day is your neighborhood going to show up at your door and invite you to make their lives taste better?  What other day will families welcome strangers into their house, and build a connection with people they barely know otherwise? What other day will you be able to look ridiculous and get candy for it?

Hopesprings in Bangor uses Halloween as an opportunity to engage and serve our neighbors.  Folks came to the gathering on Sunday morning in costume, and afterwards our people gave candy and hot chocolate to the families out for trick-or-treating. It was awesome and a great display of what serving simply can look like. 

So Hopesprings in Sioux City is taking a page from Hopesprings in Bangor tomorrow.  Our community group is going to open up the Amman house for our neighbors. We will give away good candy, food, and coffee for parents. We will meet some neighbors we may never have had another opportunity to meet.  We will build connections, and look for opportunities to love and serve the neighborhood.   

I don't care about the backstory or dark dimensions of Halloween.  I do know hundreds of kids will be in our neighborhood, with their parents, and asking to be a part of our lives for a couple minutes.  Some will be dressed in scary costumes, some will have darker motives, and I have no idea if our hospitality will be taken as a bit of God's love or not. I do know we will be loving people in a tangible way, and that love is never wasted. 

How can we be good neighbors on Halloween?