[Faith-talk] halow wean part one of two

[debby phillips]

Not me! I loved going trick or treating.  We would walk down the 
sidewalk with our sacks, the leaves crunchy under our feet.  It 
was a good night if it wasn't raining but in Oregon you never 
knew for sure.  If it was not raining we would still have to put 
our warm coats on.  There was always the tang of wood smoke in 
the air, as many people had fires in their wood stoves or 
fireplaces.  There was a sense of excitement and yes, danger, but 
not really scary danger.  But there was always that sense that 
ANYTHING could happen.

I had a real desire to fly and the only thing I really thought 
about witches was that they got to fly on broomsticks and that I 
wanted to fly, too.  The whole idea of evil never even occurred 
to me.  Early on, my parents told me that there was no such thing 
as witches, ghosts, goblins, etc.  I believed them, they were my 
parents after all, but I had a vivid imagination so I would dream 
about flying.

I know that for some people and some groups Halloween is used as 
a time of celebrating evil.  I know that some Catholic churches 
have had to lock away the Communion hosts (the wafers that are 
used for Mass), especially any that have been consecrated, 
because people steal them to blaspheme the Lord.  But that does 
not mean that ALL people do that.  Again, it's up to us as 
Christians to take a role in shaping the culture in which we 
live.    Blessings,    Debby