Hallowe'en in a Time of Cultural Change
When I was a kid, Hallowe’en was one of my favourite days of the year, for it was a time to dress up in costumes (I always wanted to be a cat), hang out with my friends after dark, go house to house to collect candy and be admired in our carefully produced costumes. It was a time for harmless fun and good camaraderie. I did not know what the word “Hallowe’en” meant, being ignorant that it was short for “All Hallows Eve”. November 1 was All Saints Day in the Western Catholic church calendar (or All Hallows Day, “hallow” being the Anglo-Saxon word for “saint”), and October 31 was the liturgical eve of that Christian Holy Day. I knew none of that. I only knew it was a time for dressing up and for collecting candy.
When I was a child the occult was largely unknown, and witches, as we all knew then, did not exist. Hallowe’en was not a celebration of evil, but of childhood fun. Times are changing, however, and a number of non-Christian groups have co-opted Hallowe’en as their festival. The day has lost some of the innocence it had in my time.
How should we Christians act in these days of cultural shift? Some Christians make a point of having nothing to do with Hallowe’en, reacting to the dark aspects of the day as co-opted by occult groups. For them, Hallowe’en is a celebration of evil, and they therefore avoid it. Other Christians view the day as simply a time for kids to get together for costumes, games and fun, and they have no problem with celebrating the day, provided that evil is excluded (no costumes of Freddie Kruger!). In times of cultural change, such differences of opinion are to be expected, for cultures change slowly and unevenly, so that a day like Hallowe’en will be experienced differently by different people.
This diversity is to be expected everywhere, including at St. Herman’s. Some families will celebrate Hallowe’en, while others will not, and there is nothing wrong with these different approaches. What would be wrong would be for one brother to judge and condemn another, for our Lord has commanded us not to judge (Mt. 7:1).
The Church throughout the ages has interacted creatively with the secular culture in which it finds itself. This is in part the origin of the Christmas celebration—the pagans in the old days were keeping the secular debauch of Saturnalia in late December, so the Christians kept the birth of Christ at that time as an alternative. St. Herman’s local tradition is to continue that creative interaction with our culture. On the Friday nearest October 31, we have a costume party for the children, with games and candy. Perhaps at a later time, the Church will have a single standardized approach to such culturally-fluid festivals as Hallowe’en. Meanwhile, our parish uses the season as a time to let our children play together in a safe and Christian environment, and as another precious opportunity for us to spend time together as a parish family in Christ.
All my love in the Lord,
Fr. Lawrence
Community Events
1. Saturday Vespers, at 7.00 pm., on October 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30.
2. Sunday Liturgy, at 10.00 am, on Oct. 3, 10, 17, 24, and 31. (Note: the Liturgy on the 24th will be the Liturgy of St. James.)
Note too: Daylight Savings Time Sunday October 31 (set clocks back one hour Saturday night October 30).
At the St. James Liturgy, Holy Communion is given in the ancient Orthodox way, with the faithful receiving the Body of Christ in the palm of the hand (placing the right hand over the left, and making one’s palm a throne for the King, as St. James of Jerusalem says), and receiving the Blood of Christ from the Chalice. Fr. Lawrence will distribute the Body of Christ, and Fr. Justin the Blood of Christ, so that faithful will go first to Fr. Lawrence, then to Fr. Justin. Do not take any antidoron or blessed wine until you received from both Fr. Lawrence and Fr. Justin.
3. Bible Study at the home of Gregory and Ana, on Wednesday October 6, 20, and 27, at 7.00 pm. (Note: no Bible Study Wednesday, October 13).
4. Fr. Thomas Hopko’s visit: Trinity Western University, Langley (at North West Baptist Auditorium), at 7.00 pm, on Friday October 15. The topic that night will be, “Sirs, What Must I Do to be Saved?”
Also: Fr. Tom will be speaking on Saturday, October 16 at 3.00 pm St. Herman’s Church. The topic will be, “Orthodoxy: the North American Experience”. Pot-luck supper to follow at the church hall, 5.30 pm, followed by Vespers at 7.00 pm.
5. Dress-up party at the church hall for the children of the parish, on October 29, 6.00 – 9.00 pm. Those adults interested in helping, please contact Victoria Jordan, (604) – 824 - 1214. Please wear appropriate costumes (no Clockwork Orange outfits!).
6. Life-Chain: Pro-life event, on Sunday, October 3, 2.00-3.00 pm. The event will be on 200 Street, from 56 Avenue to 64 Avenue. Signs are available on site. Come and pray for the unborn children and offer help to women in need. This is a quiet, prayerful, and non-violent event.
Choir Corner – October 24th
On Sunday, October 24th we will be celebrating the Divine Liturgy of St. James of Jerusalem (his feast day is on October 23rd). Much of the music for this service is the same as for our “regular” Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. However, at the Great Entrance, instead of signing “Let us who mystically represent the Cherubim . . .”, we will sing “Let all mortal flesh silence” (which many of you will remember from the Holy Saturday Liturgy of St. Basil the Great). This time we will be singing the traditional “Anglican” version of this hymn which is set in rhyming verses. The Anaphora of the St. James Liturgy also differs from that of the St. John’s Liturgy. I have set the text to a Kievan melody which recurs throughout the latter half of the service so you will find yourself easily able to sing along.
Another reminder of our WORSHIP WORKSHOP on Sat. Nov. 13th at 4:00 pm. this workshop is for EVERYONE (not just choir) and will be fun and informative. If you have any questions or comments regarding the upcoming workshop on choir, please talk to me at coffee hour or phone me at (604) – 591 – 6326 or email me at
davidcolin{at}telus.net (replace "{at}" with "@").
Sunday School News
We are off to a good start. Anna and Kallista are teaching 3 – 5 year olds in the little room. The 6 –8 year olds really enjoy having Phil as their teacher. Victoria and the 9-10 year olds have been working on Bible verses. I have been studying the Old Testament with the 11 –13 year olds. Please come regularly and on time at 9:30am, Sunday!
Maria
St. Herman of Alaska Orthodox Church
Fr. Thomas Hopko, a popular speaker and leading Christian theologian, is the Dean Emeritus of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, NY. A leading figure in Orthodox-Evangelical dialogue for the past thirty years, and a long-standing member of the World Council of Churches’ Faith and Order Commission, one of Fr. Thomas’ most important accomplishments was his service as chairman of the Faith and Order Commission Steering Group from 1985-1991. This group prepared the Faith and Order Report on reactions to the Lima document, which included the official responses of about 185 Christian churches to one of the most important documents to come out of the WCC: Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry (BEM). As a speaker, Fr. Thomas has a particular gift for drawing upon his vast knowledge of Christian life, history, and doctrine and synthesizing it in addresses which inspire in both popular and academic audiences a sense of and a zeal for the inexhaustible depths and riches of “the faith, once for all delivered to the saints.”