Almost 60 people from around the US joined our little church
to offer spiritual counseling to the celebrants in our city. Our church meets
in a former bank along the red line marking the visitors route around the city.
From our church, and from tents set up in one of the busiest squares in
downtown Salem they provided Dream Interpretation (ala the Book of Daniel) and
“Spiritual Readings” as a means of identifying with the spiritual seekers
coming to Salem.
Valor is a local Witch. She likes our church. On Saturday before
Halloween, I taught a class introducing the 60 outreach ministers to the world
of Salem. It was part introduction to the belief systems of Neo-Paganism, part
sensitivity training to fight back the urge to engage in spiritual warfare, and
part pep rally for the outreach. I introduced Valor to the class.
“If you haven’t met a Witch. This is what a witch looks
like.” It wasn’t hard to imagine. She was dressed in black and red – complete
with robe and pointy hat. During October, this is the look for many Salem
Witches for the Halloween season. The rest of the year, most look like your
next-door neighbor. She smiled. She hugged me. She shared a few words. At the
end of the teaching I told everyone to hug a Witch.
Kelly and her daughter Bonnie joined the outreach from
Raleigh, North Carolina. They were two of the first Witch huggers to approach
Valor. The stage was set. People were ready to treat Witches like regular
people with the same dreams, passions, struggles, and joys as everyone else.
Despite cultural clashes with evangelism styles, the people
coming to Salem are seekers. It is a surprise to those who join us in
outreach. People are still standing in line to experience spiritual counseling
after 13 years of sharing God’s love in October.
Kimberly and Leeland offered love expressions in our church
throughout the month. “You are amazing! God loves you so much, and sees how special you are.” Kimberly would sing out to people. I’m not sure what
unique quality Kimberly carries, but love is the biggest portion of her power.
People would melt in front of her. People cried, they laughed, they prayed and
asked for Jesus to touch their hearts.
The variety of evangelism expressions visiting Salem creates a wild,
sometimes violent culture clash each October.
Visiting street preachers know about our church. We are
fairly famous for a small group of about 40 people. Weekends in October some of
the preachers decide to declare by loudspeaker, that “The Gathering is a cult,”
or some such accusation.
Dan Kupka, a local musician and self-described agnostic, who
hangs out at our church, stood patiently in front of a street preacher with a
microphone and a loudspeaker. I watched from a few feet away as the rain from
the remains of Frankenstorm - Hurricane Sandy pounded the few visitors walking
the streets a couple days before Halloween. I wondered what craziness might
erupt once the preacher finished his monologue. Dan had come out of our church
without a coat, and was soaking wet before he had a chance to say his peace.
When the preaching subsided, Dan stepped forward into the street preacher’s
face and gently asked, “Can I get you a sandwich, or a coffee or something.”
For the previous month, I had been telling people in our
church (who often are bothered by the incoming street preachers) that it was
imperative for us to respond peacefully and lovingly to the noisy visitors, even if they
felt that the preachers were leaving the local churches to pick up the mess
afterward.
Dan’s gracious offering to the street preacher became a
model for our church. This was the way of our Savior – the Prince of Peace. And
the way was modeled by an agnostic.
More stories to come soon...
