HALL0W-EVEN

When costumed characters wandered to my dwelling entrance on October 31st, seeking blessings of candies, chips and other non-Canadian Food Guide recommendations, I wondered, 'do they realize they are following a historical trend reaching back into the antiquity of human history?'.

Maybe ... maybe not ... but ...

'Halloween' started its journey as 'All Hallows Even', sometime around the 3rd century when the Christians designated a day to remember 'martyrs' (those courageous souls who died rather than recant their belief in Jesus Christ).

In the 9th century, November 1st was declared 'All Hallows Day' or 'All Saints Day".

If 'All Hallows Day' was November 1st, presto... October 31 was the natural choice for 'All Hallows Eve' or 'Even'.

Slowly, over the decades, October 31st took on a life of its own. A world filled with tricks, treats, dress-ups, etc, until the 16th century, when 'All Hallows Eve' gave up the ghost (so to speak) and became 'Halloween'. And the rest, as they say, is history.

In modern times, thanks to entrepreneurial creative minds, with an eye to marketing and profit making, Halloween has become a smashing success.

Movies, popular songs, advertizers and institutions have jumped on the goblin band wagon to ride into that unknown space where 'things go bump in the night'.

Staunch realists put aside their principles of believing only what can be scientifically proven, abandoned their realism, donned unimaginable garments and acted out dramas that normally they would never, never perform or condone.

Why???

Only the shadow of every individual Halloween psyche knows for sure.

But after Halloween's energy spurts and sugar highs have subsided, slide into November 1st thinking about a 'saint' you know or have known.

Can't remember any? MMMMMMMMM

A SAINT, according to the Oxford Dictionary, is a 'very virtuous person', and 'virtuous' means a person possessing or showing moral rectitude, and 'rectitude' is defined as 'moral uprightness'.

Does that help?

No?

Then...

Think of people who have been positive models for you.

On November 1st, say words of appreciation for their existence on this earth, whether the day be called 'All Hallows' or 'All Saints'.

LIVING A CHILDHOOD DREAM

As the evening drew late, I would become bored and often fall asleep.

After all I was only about 10 or 11 years of age.


Adults would be in the other room, counting small pieces of paper.


'The numbers have to match', they would echo to each other, 'we have to be right'.


'We are electing the Government', they reiterated, trumping the magnitude of their task.


My father was the Returning Officer for several Provincial elections shortly after 1949 when Newfoundland became a Province in the Dominion of Canada.


Supervising the election process, ensuring its authenticity and reporting the results accurately was an awesome responsibility. My father did his job to the utmost degree.

Somewhere in my adult life, I recalled these 'election experiences' and decided that eventually, when time permitted, I would follow in my father's footsteps.


Two days ago, on October 25, 2010, I participated as a Polling Clerk in the Municipal Election for Burlington, Ontario, our home and adopted city. Now I have completed the circle, after working as a Deputy Polling Clerk at both the Provincial and Federal levels.


In our high school civics class, we were encouraged to be good citizens, locally, nationally and internationally. My father taught the class.


While working at each election, I think about my father and the civic duty he taught me, even though I was none too happy to have to wait many hours for him to finish up the election counting so we could go home and sleep.

His lesson on participatory citizenship stuck to me like moss on a rolling stone

WORDS RETURN TO REMIND ME OF WHO I AM.

This week I found a written speech I had given following my ordination as a deacon in 1964.

Here are some excerpts.

After thanking my family and home parish (St. Nicholas', Torbay, Newfoundland), I wrote ...

'I am looking forward to my work as an ordained person in God's Church. I look forward to this work with mixed feelings. Happy, that to a small degree, I may be able to forward the work of God's Kingdom; fearful, because of my many shortcomings as a human being; joyful, because I can help people when they are in need, yet cautious because mine may not always be the correct solution to their problem; content, with the many things I have and will have; uneasy about future unknowns; and, honoured that God called me to this holy work, yet conscious of my unworthiness to perform such sacred acts'.

'I begin with the firm conviction that a strong faith in God will, in the end, turn unworthiness into acceptance, fears into hopes and sadness into joy. I ask for your prayers'.

'There are two types of ministries within the Church - the ministry of the laity and the ministry of the clergy. Every Christian is a member of a ministry. The laity, as well as the clergy, have to present Christianity to the world. All Christians are responsible for making Christ known to all people, everywhere. When this work is left only to the clergy, the laity are not performing their true function. If we forget the duty we have to teach the world about Jesus Christ, by word and deed, the Church will fail, and it will be the fault of all who call themselves Christians'.

I was 23 years old when I wrote these words.

I could have written similar words 42 years later when I retired.

I can espouse the same message today.

I believe what I wrote then and these words became the foundation upon which I built my philosophy of ministry - faith in God, a strong commitment to lay ministry and being a people person.

That MOSS sure stuck to this ROLLING STONE.

'HARVEST' - A MANY SPLENDORED THING

A woman plants carrot seeds in the spring, tends their growth and plucks them from the ground in the autumn -- HARVEST -- then she grates the carrots, adds other ingredients (flour, spices, etc), bakes the mixture in the oven and produces a carrot cake -- HARVEST.

The Oxford dictionary defines HARVEST as both the gathering in of crops, and the product or result of a given action.

Most modern individuals can identify with the latter, since our harvests occur frequently in our everyday living at work, at home, with our hobbies, in our institutions or in our communities.

At St. John's Rockwood Church, I invited people to bring a 'symbol of their harvest' to worship on Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday.

Their tradition is also to decorate their Church windows for Harvest Thanksgiving.

I was overjoyed when I entered the Church early on Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday to see that the windows displayed BOTH kinds of harvest. The photograph above has crops from the ground as well as music symbols and photos of family members to show that our harvests are expressed in many forms and shapes.

People brought other harvest symbols to the worship, for example, a home made quilt, a tatting kit with completed items, a book collection, part of a wooden owl collection, pumpkins, jam, etc. One person spoke of a shed he is building in his backyard as his harvest.

Jesus spoke of both kinds of harvest when He told His followers, 'the HARVEST is plentiful, but the workers are few'. Some things, it seems, never change. Today, the harvest is still plentiful in the lives of people, and we need more workers. As Jesus suggested, 'pray to the Lord of the harvest for more people to step up to the plate'.

A HARVEST EXERCISE - Ask yourself, 'what are 3-5 examples of HARVEST in my life?'.

Then follow the advice on the sign displayed outside a Church by which I drive frequently, 'COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS ...... GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD.