The days are getting noticeably shorter, one day it’s ninety degrees and the next it’s seventy, and there is even a leaf or two around that are not green. Yep! It must be fall in the Lowcountry of South Carolina and with fall, all sorts of celebrations and events. Fall festivals, Halloween, Trunk-Or-Treat, corn mazes, and haunted houses to name just a few. There are also a couple of days important in the life of the Church that occur this month. October is the month in which we celebrate Reformation Day and November 1st is All Saints Day (Yes, I realize November is a different month. More to come.) Our Jewish sisters and brothers celebrate a week long festival called the Festival of Booths, also known as סוכות (This is what it looks like in Hebrew. Hebrew like Arabic is read right to left rather than left to right. Try learning to read what your brain is telling you is backwards at my age!), or Sukkot.
Sukkot, or the Festival of Booths is one of the original celebrations God commanded the Israelites to observe after freeing them from Egypt and is mentioned several times in the Old Testament (Exodus 23:16; Leviticus 23:33-36, 39-44). This festival is a week long celebration of the first fruits of the harvest giving thanks for all that God has provided them. The reason it is named Booths is that during this celebration, Israelites are to live in tents to remind themselves of the time that God led them through the desert. By Jesus’ time this festival had become a pilgrimage where the faithful were expected to travel to Jerusalem to set up their tabernacles and offer their sacrifices. It’s a celebration that continues to this day with residents constructing their booths in the streets and on their balconies as they remember God’s goodness.
Harvest festivals, state fairs, and regional fairs have their roots in this tradition. We come together to celebrate the harvest, give thanks to God, and enjoy one another’s company among agricultural displays, fried food galore, and hay rides. Cokesbury will be carrying on our own fall tradition along with traditions surrounding Halloween and All Saints Day beginning with our Trunk-Or-Treat festival that is going to take place on October 22nd from 5pm-7pm. I invite you to please decorate your trunk or truck bed, dress up as your favorite Halloween character, and join me in welcoming the community onto our campus. More trunks means more fun! There will be food, a jump castle, an obstacle course, a fire truck, a police car, a Halloween special playing in the Family Life Center, and of course Trunk-Or-Treating! This event is open to everyone, so please tell all your friends, your family, your school, and anyone else you can think of that we want to see them at their scariest best on the 22nd.
While it seems like the rest of the world only thinks of Halloween on October 31st, that day is of special importance to the Church. Even though we are United Methodists, as Protestants, we can trace our denominational roots to an event that happened on October 31, 1517. On that day, a German monk named Martin Luther nailed 95 Theses on the Castle Church door in Wittenberg. Much like John Welsey with the Methodist movement, Martin never intended to cause a split in the Church. Instead, he was calling out church leaders for selling indulgences, for emphasizing works righteousness, and for not focusing solely on faith and faith alone. Martin’s life was threatened, he lived on the run, and he was eventually excommunicated. From this event the Protestant Church was born (which includes The United Methodist Church along with thousands of other denominations). October 31st is a reminder to Protestants that we are all in need of God’s reconciling love as revealed to us in Jesus Christ, that we all fall short of the glory of God, and it is on faith alone on which we can stand.
Martin Luther was intentional in picking October 31st as the date for nailing his theses to the door because he knew the next day was of course November 1st. November 1st then like now is All Saints Day; a day in which we pause to remember those who have gone before us to the Church Triumphant. As November 1st falls on a weekday this year, we have chosen to observe All Saints Sunday on October 30th. In the coming weeks, there will be slips of paper in the Narthex for you to write down the names of any loved ones you would like to remember by having them pinned to our All Saints Banner. We are also working on another way to remember our loved ones during the service. I will provide more details when/if those plans are solidified. Regardless, as we come together to celebrate God’s goodness on the 30th, we will also remember those who are experiencing God’s love and grace in a way that we cannot right now.
Whatever activities you have planned for October, I hope you will avail yourselves of the many opportunities to worship, serve, and fellowship at Cokesbury. If I haven’t mentioned anything yet that interests you, then how about a corn maze? The Cross the Ashley Youth group will be going to the West Farm Corn Maze on October 8th, and you are invited to join us! If I still have not found an activity that is meaningful to you to celebrate fall and God’s goodness, then reach out to me and let me know your ideas. Even if we cannot incorporate them this year, we can certainly consider them for next.
I pray that as the days get shorter, the temps get a little cooler, and the humidity finally drops, that each of you has a renewed sense of God’s goodness and God’s love for you. I hope you each find a way to celebrate God’s presence in your life and that you are able to enter this new season with a spirit of thanks. In the tradition of our Jewish sisters and brothers, I leave you with these words: צ’אג סמאך (Chag Sameach! (Happy Holiday!))
Grace & Peace,
Pastor Bryan