Monthly youth leaders column

Each year I struggle with what to do about Halloween. Should I ignore it, hoping that the colourful ignition of several kilos of explosive a few days later will serve as a distraction?

Should I provide an alternative event to prohibit the young people from trick or treating? Should I attack Halloween head on, exposing it for the occult celebration that lies not far beneath the surface? The hope is that this month's article will inspire you afresh to use Halloween as an opportunity for the gospel, and not just an evening to keep your head below the parapet.

Party on

Many churches use Halloween as an opportunity to put on a party or event that reflects very different values. Some call them 'parties of light' or rainbow parties, the idea being to emphasise Jesus, the light of the world, not the darkness of the occult. Food and fancy dress are great ideas for these parties, after all that's the essence of trick or treating. But into the mix you can also throw games, videos, fun and laughter. Of course, you're inside in the warm too. Try to time the party so that it will deliberately clash with the 5-7 o'clock slot when most youngsters would be out on the streets. You want to provide a rival not a back-up.

The most important element is how you are going to explain why you are hosting the party. Miss this out and it could be misunderstood. Using the Bible to show that Jesus is the true light, and he alone is Lord, is essential. But you could do this through a quiz, a talk, buzz groups, using a video or drama. Be daring, this has got to be memorable.

You could take the whole idea further. One church I heard of had a sleepover on Halloween each year, albeit with slightly older young people. In fact, they called it a wake-over and tried to stay up for as long as possible. The local swimming baths let them hire the pool in the middle of the night, they played games, had a study and showed a video at about 2.00 in the morning, by which time most people were flagging anyway. Perhaps that's not such a great idea this year, with school the next day.

Assembly opportunity

One of my first jobs as a rookie youth worker was presenting an upper school assembly on the Christian view of Halloween. The assembly tackled several different areas. Since 'X-files' was then the TV show to watch, I introduced the assembly by talking about fear, the unknown and truth, all concepts that the show deals with. There are lots of TV shows that could act as starting points currently, e.g. Roswell High, Buffy or even Scooby-Doo. I had background music as I talked and used visuals such as iconic pictures that inspired fear (well, the child-catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang scared me when I was little!).

Secondly, I gave a potted history of Halloween, to highlight the fact that although our celebrations these days are often fairly docile, the background to Halloween is undoubtedly sinister. I tried hard not to make people feel guilty about enjoying themselves, but left them in no doubt as to the link between Halloween and the occult. This part of the assembly was one occasion when I have been criticised and have had to question whether I stepped over the line of what is permissible. A vocal politically correct lobby accused me of attacking other religions when I pointed the finger at witchcraft as being evil. 'Wicca', they said, 'was a religion and people had the right to practise it'. So be careful what you say. Make sure that people know that this is what biblical Christianity teaches, but don't pull your punches!

I wanted the young people to think more carefully about what they got up to on Halloween because I had lifted the lid on the reality just below the surface. I made sure I pointed to Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Life, emphasising that the Truth was certainly out there, but the Truth was the person of the Lord Jesus. The assembly ended in a positive way with a 'government health warning' on Halloween and emphasis on the fact that absolutes like right and wrong, good and evil do exist and call for a decision to be made. I then offered an opportunity to talk with myself or a Christian member of staff about anything that confused or worried them.

An alternative 'treat'

How about giving something out instead of sweets to your young people. I know lots of Christians do this on Halloween. Give out pamphlets that present the truth about Halloween or even just gospel tracts. To follow up the assembly, I gave the school some worksheets to stimulate discussion in tutor group time. It is also a good idea to prepare something to give parents if you are planning a party. There are lots of things around to help. The Association of Christian Teachers (www.christian-teachers.org.uk) have a booklet called Halloween for schools. The Good Book Company (www.thegoodbook.co.uk) have their pamphlet Halloween - it's a scream available again this year.

Don't duck behind the defences this Halloween, go on the attack.

Handling Halloween

Party on

Assembly opportunity

An alternative 'treat'

Roger Fawcett

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