Gorleston Church invited residents to battle forces of darkness on Halloween
A church in Norfolk broke the usual Halloween trends and engaged directly with the forces of darkness. St Mary Magdalene Gorleston welcomed hundreds trick or treating in their neighbourhood to bravely enter a ‘Battle Zone’ in order to discover Light on a Dark Night
Young people, children, and families queued down the street in order to take on a series of battles against the darkness, inside the pitch black, smoke-filled church building. Welcomed by war-weary dressed volunteers, the brave entered via climbing through a cobweb. They then had a witch to shoot, a whack-a-mole ghost to kill, apples to bob and a diamond to find in a slime-filled bath. To their disappointment, following early signs of success, the participants found that the forces of darkness were more difficult to defeat than they realized; they could not win any of the challenges
However, they were struck along their journey through the church that a trail of footsteps (marked with blood) went from battle to battle, leaving behind signs for them to contemplate. By the cobweb, a dead spider was found with some leather sandals. The witch was found with a bullet hole in her head, alongside a communion cup and plate of half eaten bread. 10 half eaten apples were found within a crown of thorns and a collapsed ghost had Roman nails laid on top
The volunteer minding the slime bath, directed the now battle-weary defeated participants to the strikingly lit (covered in LED tea lights) large cross by the exit. The ‘diamond’ was found lit up at the foot of the cross. The vicar explained to them there that Christ had defeated all the forces of darkness for them through his death on the cross. To acknowledge this they could put a tea light onto the cross and then would be able to pass through into the Light Zone
In the Light Zone (the next door Hall), they were welcomed with into a room filled with victory music, fairy lights, and decorated with a large empty tomb, The volunteer dressed in party dress (but still with a battle wound on his face) greeted them: ‘Welcome to the Light Zone. Because of Jesus you have been victorious and can now enjoy being in the light’. Three volunteers in party dress enabled them to have their fill of hot chocolate and hot dogs and engage in more relaxing activities like decorating chocolate-covered apples and making cardboard Shields of Faith. They left better prepared for their ongoing trick or treating journey. Parents had been duly supplied with much appreciated tea and coffee and all seemed relieved to have discovered Light on a Dark Night
Vicar of St Mary Magdalene church, Rev Matthew Price, explains “Too often the church has retreated into the safety of the more usual Light Party to avoid the cultural phenomenon of Halloween. We at St Mary Magdalene find it thrilling and more effective to share the message of Christ in a way that positively engages our wonderful community, whilst highlighting the powerful, yet remarkably loving way, that Christ defeats the powers of darkness in our world through his death”
  
  
pictures courtesy of St Mary Magdalene Church
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