A Different Kind Of Halloween Party
October 24, 2023
My three brothers and I were not allowed to dress up for Halloween and go “trick or treating.” Mother didn’t believe in it. We felt deprived then, but it’s interesting how those things aren’t a big deal when you look back on them. When I was in my first year at William Jewell College, friends in my dorm and I dressed up and went out on Halloween. I have no recall as to what our costumes were like, but I wanted the experience since I hadn’t done it as a child. You can imagine my embarrassment when we knocked on a door and it was opened by one of my professors! She was gracious and went along with our fun.
When Rebecca and Laura were young, we lived in Shawnee, Oklahoma, and I took the job of Activities Director for the Children’s Department at our church. I wanted to make the Halloween party a unique experience for the children so with the help of a teacher, we directed the children to dress in a costume of what they imagined a particular Bible character would look like. They were to bring three clues as to who they were and that was the contest that night—to guess who each child was. Prizes were given. Later, my friend and I made a bulletin board with the picture of each child in costume and the typed clues under the picture. As the congregation passed by the bulletin board, they could lift the picture and learn the name of the Bible character and see if they had guessed correctly.
My friend and I baked a ghost cake, the idea taken from my Betty Crocker Cookbook I had received as a child. The eyes could be lit when everyone was gathered around the cake. You will have to get the recipe from the internet to learn the secret of this fun cake.
As the party concluded, I gave them their “favor” to take home and explained the meaning of it. Inside the ghost I had made, they would find a dove, the symbol of the Holy Spirit, also known in the Bible as the Holy Ghost. I used the letters of the word GHOST to teach them some important truths.
God sent Him. Jesus told his disciples that he would ask the Father and he would send the Holy Spirit, which God did after Jesus went back to heaven.
Helps us remember. Jesus also told his disciples that the Holy Spirit would bring to their remembrance all the things that he had said to them. And that goes for us too!
One alongside to help us. Jesus said the Father would give us a Helper to be with us forever. He said he would not leave us as orphans.
Speaks the truth. As we study the scriptures, the Spirit helps us understand.
Teaches us God’s secrets. We are told our eyes haven’t seen, our ears heard, or our minds conceived what God has in store for us, but God reveals it by his Holy Spirit.
I hope the children took away something to inspire them from our different kind of Halloween party.