Dear Friends,

I am about to leave the office and head up the hill to Monument Square.  All kinds of goblins, witches, scarecrows, princesses, pirates, and any number of creatures are gathering there for the Halloween parade around the square. It is a great Charlestown event, and even as I write, two small firefighters no older than three are eagerly passing by the Parish House.

Halloween of course, is a chance to put on a mask, or create a disguise, and to be someone else or something else for an evening. We move a little bit beyond who we are to imagine ourselves as someone – or something else.

Today I am headed up the hill. But on Sunday, as on every Sunday, I will be headed here to church, to do something that is quite the opposite: to discover who I really am. If a special holiday allows me to imagine myself as a fearsome creature, then the weekly experience of worship invites me to see myself as the creature I truly am: fearfully and wonderfully made, created in the image of God, and bestowed with particular gifts for the fulfillment of God’s purpose.  And frankly, that can be a little frightening. But it can also be compelling

If Halloween allows us to step outside of our regular lives for just a little bit, then the community of the church, in its worship and in its witness, always invites us to step more deeply into an understanding of who we truly are. So have fun being someone else tonight. And then on Sunday, join us, to be who you truly are. As we remember saints who have gone before us and found their fulfillment in life, and as we welcome the newly baptized, we will discover anew who it is that God is calling us to be, both as individuals and as a community of faith.

Faithfully,

Tom