Did your church ‘do’ Halloween?

November 1, 2014
Jon White

Most Episcopal Churches will likely be marking All Saints either today or during Sunday services tomorrow. But what about All Hallow’s Eve?

All Hallow’s eve has its own liturgy in the Book of Occasional Services. And in the US, All Hallow’s Eve, in the guise of Halloween, has certainly captured the popular imagination in the way that All Saints has not. Many Episcopal Churches (especially ones with schools) do mark Halloween, Holy Innocents Episcopal School near Atlanta has held a Halloween parade now for 46 years.

Are there ways the church can reclaim All Hallows Eve or is it better to insert the churches voice in what has become a popular holiday?

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Chris Arnold

November 9, 2014 8:43 am

I offered the liturgy from the BOS one year in my last church, and the next year offered vespers for the eve of All Saints. Overall, I say we let the kids be kids on that evening, and save our moral guidance for resisting real works of the adversary.

Bob McCloskey

November 2, 2014 10:33 am

In case you haven’t read it, my favorite UK priest/theologian has an appropriate column in the Guardian – thanks to Thinking Anglicans: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2014/nov/01/superstition-cant-exorcised-simply-turning-off-god-switch

jon white

November 1, 2014 11:57 am

Bob, thank you for the correction, the post has been updated.

Jon

Bob Manning

November 1, 2014 11:12 am

I believe that should be Holy Innocents School, just north of Atlanta in Sandy Springs, Georgia.

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