Families from both the Emmanuel community, and the neighbourhood, enjoyed a free Hallowe’en movie on the Friday before Hallowe’en. October 25, at 
6:30 PM. The audience enjoyed The Corpse Bride”: a PG-rated film that tells the story of an accidental romance that grows into deep sacrificial love.
“The Corpse Bride” isn’t an overtly Christian movie. Tim Burton is a secular film-maker who doesn’t target the Sunday-school demographic. But we know from the Bible that all media can be leveraged by an inspired evangelist to open discussions about the nature of God and our own relationships with God. In his blog essay “Toward a Corpse Bride Theology” evangelical pastor Tony Sumpter underscores some of the Christian themes he sees hidden under the whimsical comedy in the film. You may disagree, but if you choose to engage deeply on matters of art and theology you can definitely use The Corpse Bride as the starting point for some interesting discussion on the subjects of love, sacrifice, mortality and transcendance.
Sometimes, people express surprise that a church celebrates Hallowe’en. Modern media connects Hallowe’en with horror films and monsters. And, modern secular thought is deeply uncomfortable with the idea of Death. Some church communities without deep foundations in European church tradition, even associate Hallowe’en with evil, which shows a shocking misunderstanding of what Hallowe’en actually means.
“Hallow” is an old English word meaning “Holy” or “Sainted”. “E’en” is short for “Evening”. So, “Hallowe’en” is “All Saints Eve.” It’s a sacred feast, whatever secular people may make of it. In the same way, Christmas is still a sacred feast regardless of how it is secularized and commercialized. Here at Emmanuel, we “keep the Christ in Christmas” and we “keep the Holy” in “Hallowe’en.”
As winter draws near, people living in the north realized that between food shortages, exposure, and disease the weakest among them were unlikely to live to see spring. But, of course, as Christians we are not afraid of death. We recognize that we are not truly separated from those who die in the faith: the church is made up of both believers here on earth — the “church militant” — and believers gathered around God’s throne in heaven: the “church triumphant.”
The first day of November, which was traditionally considered the first day of Winter, was set aside to remember the faithful departed and experience that deep union with them that God has made available to us.
The main characteristic of modern Hallowe’en though, is children’s excitement as they create costumes, carve jack-o-lanterns, and bake cookies; and their delight as they enjoy the magic of God-created starlight, the chill of the Spirit blowing on the night wind, and the amazing freedom to enter neighbours’ yards and even receive treats from the householders. There is delight, too, apparent in the smiles of those householders: elderly neighbours whose own children are long past their trick-or-treating days, parents of classmates, and even young singles whose own trick-or-treat days are scant years in the past. Over the years that my own children collected candy house-to-house, they came to know their neighbours (and the kind of treats to be collected there!), which houses opted out — as is their right and no shame to them — and which houses opted in – and IN – and ***IN***. And the neighbours came to know them, and to expect them year after year, and now after thirty-odd years they reminisce on Hallowe’en night at the neighbour who hands out Bailey’s for grownups! Creating connections, even only once a year, is the essence of God’s will.
