Member-only story
My Church Dressed Up Halloween as a “Harvest Festival”
Who the hell were they fooling?
At the pumpkin-carving station, slimy seeds and discarded safety knives piled up on wet newspapers.
Volunteers dressed in costumes handed candy to kids dressed in costumes.
On the carpeted sanctuary steps, three scarecrows stood ready for pictures.
At 7:30 p.m., the judging began. All the costumed kids stood on the brightly-colored AWANA lines that permanently marked the sanctuary floor linoleum.
And at 8:00 p.m., my family trekked back outside to our Toyota Camry as I clutched my plastic bucket full of treats.
Make no mistake: this was not, I repeat, NOT a Halloween event.
At the end of October, my church and Christian school joined forces to put on a Harvest Festival to celebrate… the harvest?
Nothing harvestable grew in the California Mojave desert besides gross-smelling alfalfa and an occasional zucchini.
But no matter.
Everyone was invited to experience the clean, righteous fun of the Harvest Festival!
