Halloween for Christians: How to Respond to It

Halloween has become one of the largest, most influential holidays in America, and is gaining ground in other countries as well. It is a day filled with costuming, horror images, candy, and community openness. That combination seems strangely out of synch with sensibility at first glance, but those issues may not be as far apart as we might assume.

If you come from the conservative to fundamentalist spectrum of Evangelical Christianity, you may have been raised with a fear of Halloween. You have heard stories of its supposed Pagan beginnings, and the dark sinister things occurring on Samhain (pronounced Sow-en). The Fundamentalist mind runs rampant with human and kitten sacrifices on October 31st. Churches hold Harvest Fairs, or 24-hour prayer vigils to combat the dark intentions of the Evil One on this night.

Meanwhile, families are getting dressed up in costumes ranging from bloody zombies to Disney Princesses, and they are traveling the neighborhood knocking door-to-door like vacuum cleaner salesman looking for candy for their children. The neighbors open their doors, cheerily accept a "Trick-or-Treat!" shout, give out candy, and close the doors to declare how cute the kids look. To these neighbors, your concern about keeping your kitty indoor on Halloween, or avoiding a demonic intrusion into your child's soul seems as distant as Pluto.

Now, I will be so bold as to declare, that I know a bit more about Halloween and its intersection with Christianity than just about anybody reading this blog post. You see, I am a Christian Pastor. But not only that, I am a Christian Pastor who lives and pastors in Salem, Massachusetts, and in our little city, Halloween is a one-month-long experience. But, not only that, I have been running an outreach on the streets of Salem for nearly an entire month each year during our month-long Halloween season. And not only that, our city has real live practicing Witches, and I know many of them well. So, here goes my take on Halloween. I will not give you the supposed history of the event. You can find that elsewhere on the internet, and some of it is sensationalist (stay away from that stuff - it's just dumb and wrong), and some of it is honest enough to say that we do not really know the origins or activities on this night back in early Pagan history.

Here are some suggestions I have for you:

1) Don't get freaked out by the gory aspects of Halloween. Yes, some people go overboard, but then again so did Grimm's Fairy Tales, and so did some of the descriptions of war, sickness, depravity and suicide in the Bible. There is a strong connection between death and apocalyptic scenarios in literature and film, and these connections carry spiritual meaning. From stories of zombies to vampires to monsters to antichrists we find interesting correlations to finding safety in God during apocalyptic crisis in literature and film, and social commentary is ripe in story lines like The Walking Dead.

2) Take advantage of the community openness. What other day of the year will people happily open their doors to a knock from a strangely dressed stranger saying funny things to them? In fact, they will be so happy to see you, they will give you a gift of candy. How often does that happen? You couldn't get that to happen on Christmas Day while everyone is excitedly opening packages under the decorated piney tree.

3) Don't get all caught up in the supposed dark intentions of the night. How many Witches do you actually know? My guess is that most people reading this will answer "none." I know hundreds - literally hundreds. That is because I live in Salem Massachusetts, and have friends from the Neo-Pagan Witchcraft community from around the world. I have yet to encounter any dead kitty cats, or sacrificed babies. I have found very few examples of curses upon churches or individual Christians. I am not saying that there are not any examples of curses by Witches, but the Witches I know are generally kind people who want the world to be a better, more peaceful place. For this reason, I do not have to hide on Halloween to pray the darkness away.

4) Join someone doing something both fun and redemptive, if you can. Because I am in Salem, and 500,000 to a million people will visit our city in October, we will provide live music on the streets, give away free hot cocoa, free hugs, and will set up booths to offer a variety of spiritual counseling. This is our way of connecting to a searching world during a searching season.

I believe that Halloween is the most open and community oriented holiday in our culture. It is filled with wild creativity, and offers Christianity the best moment in the year to shine with its own creativity, love and giving. Don't let that moment pass you by, because you are afraid of some bogey man of urban myth in fundamentalist garb.

Drawing Lines of Missional Engagement

I have spent a good deal of time the last 14 years hanging out with neo-Pagans of all sorts: Witches, Druids, Shamans, and others. They are my friends. This is not just some kind of engagement of an evangelical sort, but a deeper relationship of real friendships and respect.

As a Christian pastor this has required me to think about the depth of my interaction with other religious traditions.

The Apostle Paul wrote about handling the subject of being offered a meal when the food was offered to idols first. He navigated the tricky decision of remaining faithful to God, and not trying not to offend those who offered the meal. He seems to indicate that he would eat without reservation as long as it did not require allegiance to other gods, or appear to make others believe that he had given his allegiance over to other gods.

This has become my basic line of engagement with other religions. I will participate with them in activities which do not involve crossing a line of allegiance away from Jesus, or to another god or goddess. In this way, I can be involved with people of other religions without changing my own religion. Paul must have had to act this same way many times as he navigated ministry in the Roman Pagan world.

When you are with your friends who are involved with a spiritual path which is very much unlike your own, how do you respond to times when their religion is being practiced? Do you avoid those moments? Get involved? or simply watch from a distance? and where do you draw your lines of engagement?

Pastor visits Pagan Pride (again, and again, and again)

It is no secret that many of my friends are Pagans: Witches, Druids, Shaman and the like. This last weekend I skipped church because of them. Myself and three friends from church, and five more from other places joined me at the Eastern Massachusetts Pagan Pride Festival.

I taught a workshop, my friends interpreted dreams, and we made new and wonderful friends there. This is my 4th Pagan Pride event. I love the people, enjoy teaching there, enjoy helping others lead Dream Interpretation, and typically just revel in being places a Christian pastor is not expected to be.

During the closing ceremony I heard one person speak up in the ritual and say they hoped to encourage Christian-Pagan discussion. I wish I had seen who that was, because that has been a desire and activity of my own. It is time for the world's to meet and discover that God is making Himself present in all of our lives and working by the Spirit to touch us with His love. (Okay, I realize that I expressed that in the typical Christianese of a Patriarchal mindset - but hey, that's who I am. No apologies, no regrets on that one, and I am glad we can take one another exactly as we are.)

I taught a small group on the subject of Interpreting Spiritual Phenomena. There were a couple people who saw, spoke to, and regularly experienced ghosts, and we interpreted those experiences. In one case a girl had been haunted by a malevolent red-glowing eye at night in her room, and competing voices attempting to help her. As a group we spoke to her need to run to the place of safety, which is found in the gentleness of the God's Spirit.

Our team of interpreters, lead by John Harding, worked throughout the afternoon, and touched people's hearts in a significant way.

I know. A pastor going to Pagan events is weird. But, I am looking for weirdos who are willing to navigate this world, and work to generate a place of discussion for the Spirit of God to work between these worlds.

Interpreters of Spiritual Experience

Spiritual experiences are rocking people's lives.

I know of a Neo-Pagan who had open vision of Jesus appearing in the middle of her living room on the cross. I sat for coffee with Fiona Horne, one of America's most famous Witches, as she retold her story of "the Christian God" speaking to her through a falcon. It landed on the ground in front of her, spread it's wings and spoke as man. Fiona retells this story in her book describing an event during the time she was filming "Mad, Mad House" for the Sci-Fi channel.

These are the kind of stories which rock your world and leave you grasping for footing, or reaching for answers.

Spiritual experiences are like clues to crime scene. They hint an answer, but remain mysterious without a fuller body of evidence, or a confession of a perpetrator. Spiritual experiences are like pieces of a puzzle. They are small glimpses of a larger, beautiful picture; but by themselves they are odd shaped pieces of color. They are like sign posts to a destination. They may give hints as to their ultimate meaning, or point the direction, but are not the actual destination.

The value of legitimate spiritual experience is great, as is a sign post on a long lonely stretch of road to a destination one has never before traveled. But, experiences are often few and far between, and this may be purposely so, as part of the plan of God.

There are people on earth who though they have not reached the ultimate destination on that path toward God, have seen more clearly ahead into the distances. Scripture gives us a clearer picture than our experiences often - if interpreted well, and those who know the scriptures, and know their God will see the path of spiritual growth and enlightenment more clearly than those who have only mystical experience to navigate by.

Believing that this is true it leads to me to believe that those who know the scriptures and know their God (the two are not necessarily connected) have the potential to become interpreters of the mysterious spiritual phenomena, which often confound people experiencing them today.

Lecturing at St. Donat's Castle in Wales

Oh yeah, I'm living like Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.  I will lecturing about Witches, Pagans, and Druids at a castle in Wales on Friday, February 12th at 6:30pm.

You might never again have the opportunity to have a real life Harry Potteresque experience like this one.  The topic in interfaith communication and relationships between widely variant belief systems - in this case Christianity and Neo-Paganism.

What better place to hold such a lecture than a Welsh Castle?!  St. Donat's Castle in the Vale of Glamorgan is owned by Atlantic College, and I am giving the lecture for students.  There is a facebook event page for this.

Come and join me for the fun.  Witches! Castles! in the UK!  Move over Ms. Rowling.  I'm doing the real thing!

If you are interested in being a part of such a dialogue, but can not make it to Wales there is a Christian/Pagan dialogue online called Circle and Cross Talk.  Circle and Cross Talk is sponsored by The Gathering.

Suggested reading on the subject "Beyond the Burning Times."

Salem Witches' Pub Crawl and the Pastor

Last night was Pagan Pub Crawl night in Salem, MA.  Salem has some events, which are either completely unique, or at least rare.  Now, I am sure that there are probably hundreds of Pagan Pub Crawls across the world, but I am also sure that there are few as well attended or colorful as ours.  This one is actually officially called the "Salem Witches' Pub Crawl."

Okay, I know calling this pub crawl "ours" is probably a strange sounding thing coming from a decidedly evangelical kind of pastor like myself, but I refer to it loosely as ours.  Salem is my city - so it is our pub crawl.  These are my friends and they invite me to these events whenever they occur, and are genuinely happy to see me there - so I guess it is our pub crawl.

Regular faces were there.  From our church (The Gathering) myself and The Prof. Carlos Z. were there.

It was a generally good event to be at - not a typical Christian potluck or bean supper - a little bawdy in discussion at times, kind of like working on a construction crew, but these are good people with a real concern for myself and for The Gathering.  That may sound funny to those who haven't been to The Gathering, or visited us during our times of outreach, but that's the way life in Salem is - the Salem Witches are our friends, and we think that's the way Jesus would have it.  WWJD?  He would probably go to the Salem Witches Pub Crawl if He lived in Salem.  So we just go in His place, since He is not living here in flesh and blood right now.

As a point of highlight I was spent quite some time with Raven Grimassi, and Stephanie Taylor-Grimassi.  They are both authors and quite well known in the Pagan world.

Little did I realize, but we had something in common - a previous home - Escondido, CA.  Raven and Stephanie owned a Witchcraft store in Escondido from 1998 to 2002.  I spent much of my time from Junior High to Bible College in Escondido.  It is as close to being the place I hail from as anywhere a transient Californian might come from.  Of course, by 1999 I moved away from Southern California (note: I hate the abbreviated version SoCal - that is like telling someone from San Francisco they live in Frisco - not good etiquette) to come to Salem.  Raven and Stephanie now live in Springfield, MA, and will be in Salem with some regularity.

We talked about things like the holiness of place, and whether one locale had a special spiritual significance to it, or if that holiness was something one carried around inside themselves.  Myself, Raven, Stephanie, Laura Dee, and Lori Bruno discussed this and other topics such as the Middle East struggles, and the divine imprint upon creation.  I found Raven and Stephanie to be intelligent and gracious communicators, and hope it will be the beginning of getting to know them better.

This doesn't quite sound like Carmen's Witch's Invitation - does it?

Enculturalization and the Gospel in Our Own Land

Andrew Jones the Tall Skinny Kiwi posted today about Brother Flack, a 100 year old missionary who Tall Skinny suggests ought to be the Patron Saint of the Emerging Church. It is a great post.

The quotes from Brother Flack highlight adaptation to culture in which one is ministering, and this is what Tall Skinny identifies as an emerging church dynamic having been around for a lot longer than the Emerging Church Movement.

"Go as a learner. Be prepared to learn from the national people and from the culture of the country. Do not try to make the churches like the one in your own country. Do everything you can to develop indigenous growth. Do not be masters; be servants. Identify in every way you can with the people God puts you among." says Brother Flack.

Having aggressively attempted this style of evangelism for a couple decades now, and having been acknowledged by missionaries as doing a missions model within the United States I have discovered something a bit disconcerting.

It has become popular enough to talk about adaptation to new cultures if someone moves to a far away place to preach the Gospel. There is an expectation that there will be a season of enculturalization for the new missionary. This is accepted as a necessary adaption for the growth of the Gospel.

In our own land new cultures are developing all the time. Adaptation, and learning from these developing cultures is not nearly as acceptable to the ecclesiastical powers that be as adaptation to foreign cultures. One can get themselves into some pretty sticky situations. I agree Brother Flack ought to be the Patron Saint of the Emerging Church, but if you practice his ways - oh, Brother are you gonna take some Flack! Sorry, bad joke, but still a good point.

A Christian Presenter at Pagan Pride?!

Yesterday was the Pagan Pride event in North Andover, MA. I had been invited to give a workshop at the event. Matt the Pirate, and his wife Mary the Goth Theologian, John the Master Dream Interpreter (though he denies it), and The Prof. Carlos Z. joined me for the event.

I hope to develop a team of Christians who can hang out at such events, and actually be good examples - instead of silly, judgmental, and icky. "Icky" is a theological term, you know.

We want to do things like Dream Interpretation, training in Neo-Pagan/Christian relationships, and simple friendship development to show that we can all live in this world together without fighting like cats. Of course, Neo-Pagans and the kind of Christians who like hanging out with me have something in common - we are like cats, herding us remains an impossibility.

Now the day previous I visited one of the stores of a Salem Witch who was one of the presenters at the festival as well. Teri said to me in passing, "Did Carole tell you about the one rule of the workshops? They need to be performed skyclad." Teri did not flinch a bit when saying this. Neither did I.

"That's cool." I replied.

So, the day of the event 5 of us drove out to North Andover from Salem at 7:30 in the morning. We arrived at the event early, and did so purposely. We put our hands to the work of setting up. Our plan was to make ourselves indispensable, which is really just another way of saying that we were going to be servants. We set up tents, we set up the Children's area, moved picnic benches, set up signs, and Matt the Pirate helped the blacksmith haul anvils and organize the smithy's area.

Once the vendors were set up, and the people began to arrive, we milled around. I greeted old friends from Salem, and made a few new friends. Matt the Pirate hung out with the Blacksmith; John, Mary, and Carlos got to know the festival, which is a mid-sized Pagan festival with live music, about 20-25 crafters, an early evening ritual, and a dozen workshops from morning to mid-afternoon.

My workshop was from 12:15 to 1:15. We ate pumpernickel bread and cheese, passed out flyers for the workshop, and joined the drum circle during the time between finishing set up, and the workshop.

The description of the workshop was this:

The Circle and The Cross Talk:  Re-visioning Pagan/Christian Relationships

Looking back to the Caesars, and to the Burning Times misconceptions and urban myths have had deadly results for both Pagans and Christians.  In our own times, though mild in comparison, Pagans have been on the receiving end of the religious persecution.  Some have chosen to remain in the broom closet, and others have faced the struggle head on - sometimes to bitter disappointment with family, friends, and work associates.  This workshop is designed as a deeper look into the worldview differences between Christian and Neo-Pagan thought with a focus upon deconstructing, and re-visioning some of the beliefs which cause the greatest pain.  Come learn to navigate this battlefield of philosophical tension. Topics of frustration to be covered include judgment, conversion, spiritual dissonance, and sexuality.

At 12:05 we made our way to the workshop location. The previous workshop on Greek deities was ending, and we waited for the group to gather. About 20 people arrived, and after the welcome I introduced myself and the rest of the gang.

Strangely, no one was skyclad. Teri had lied to me, and Bev my wife was happier for it.

I gave my credentials for teaching the workshop - I call it Pagan street Cred - I've been excommunicated from a denomination for making friends with Pagans. That's pretty darn good Street Cred.

The workshop looked something like this:

I taught for between 7 and 10 minutes on 4 different subjects, and between each subject I had the class break up into three groups. John the Dream Master led one group, Matt the Pirate led the second group, and Mary the Goth Theologian and The Prof. Carlos Z. led the third group.

My goal was to teach about those four basic Christian doctrines listed above, and what caused these particular doctrines to be divisive points between Christians and Pagans. My particular focus was to highlight imbalances in the approaches and theology of many Christians, which caused their behavior and attitudes to be negative and hurtful.

I taught first about Hell and Judgment, and shared the fact that this doctrine ought to be a great equalizing doctrine in evangelical circles, because the belief is that all people are destined for Hell or deserving of it. Instead many Christians are proud of some unique heavenly status they think they have, and instead of finding commonality with struggling humanity they become judgmental.

Then the three groups discussed the point and how they felt about Hell and Judgment. There was laughing, and there was serious dialogue, and there was a mixed combination of joy to be talking about these things openly in a mixed religious group, and concern about the treatment many of the Pagans had received from Christians they knew and loved.

Then we discussed Conversion. I told them I was going to be giving them the inside scoop. Something many Christians did not realize, or if they did they somehow lost sight of it in the midst of their zeal. The point was this: No human can convert you. Conversion only occurs as an interaction between deity and a human.

Then our Christian group leaders had to rotate clockwise to change groups. For some reason they couldn't quite figure out clockwise initially - evidence that they are not Pagans and don't normally work in circles. Good thing I did not ask them to rotate deosil. Once they figured it out, the discussion on conversion appeared to be more personal, and filled with stories of pressure Pagans received from Christians.

Thirdly, I taught about Spiritual Dissonance, which is my redefinition of the subject Spiritual Warfare. When I mentioned Spiritual Warfare the group groaned, and understood the ramifications of the term. So we talked about the devil scares of the 1980's through people like Mike Warnke, and Bob Larson. Then we looked for a more balanced view of the subject from a Christian perspective. My hope was to arm Pagans with sound views of Christianity in order to help them counteract bizarre unloving behavior from wacky Christians.

The group rotated deosil once again, and began to discuss this subject. Of course the problem of evil arose in the groups, and this became a point of discussion.

Last of all we talked about the hottest subject of all - sex. I had the group shout a victory shout because we were going to talk about sex, and they did so raucously. I pointed out that the practice of heterosexual, monogamous, wait till marriage sexuality was actually a ritual lifestyle being lived out by Christians who believe that the Church is a Bride to the Son of God, and that our full realization of this union will occur in the second coming. Now we are engaged as it were to Him. Most Christians don't understand that this ritual lifestyle is a choice of beautiful ritual, and not a harsh law. Because they do not understand this they sound harsh when they discuss this issue.

Once again the Christians turned deosil in the circle, and arrived back in the original group they had led. Then they talked sex with Pagans. This was a hot and wild subject. One group was very serious, another group was light but philosophical, and the third was a bawdy group from Salem (I should have known!) in which The Poor Prof. Carlos Z. was being hit on by my friend a gay Pagan and Mary the Goth Theologian was trying to keep a straight face.

The group ended after this, and we all had a good time. I met someone from the COG who was excited about the workshop, and thought it would be good have in a COG setting as well. That would be pretty cool actually, and I would love to do that someday perhaps.

I talked with a number of new friends, and they all appreciated the open discussion combined with the attempts to bring peace between the worlds.

Later that day I talked with Teri. She had mentioned the skyclad joke, and the fact that when she mentioned it to Carole, Carole asked, "What did he do?" Teri replied to Carole, "He worked me, and simply said, 'That's cool.'" Yep, I did work her. I'm not easily surprised, and I've been to enough public Pagan events to know this was not going to be a skyclad event.

Well, it still seems strange to me, but I was able to talk about Hell, Conversion, Spiritual Warfare, and Biblical Sexuality at a Pagan Festival and people loved it. All I can ask myself is, "What the heck have Christians been doing wrong for so long that this has not been able to happen?" Then again I have to remind myself that I have been excommunicated from a middle of the road Pentecostal denomination for doing such things. So, I guess I already know the answer to that question.

Pics to come soon. Although I forgot to get the camera out for the workshop. Sheesh, I always do that.


This post is part of the interfaith synchroblog on interfaith dialogue.

List of participants

• J. R. Miller (Christian) of More Than Cake on A Christian Approach to Interfaith Dialogue


• Liz Dyer (Christian) of Grace Rules on Interreligious Dialogue: Risky Business


• Matt Stone (Christian) of Glocal Christianity on Is Interfaith Interfaith enough?


• Steve Hayes (Christian Orthodox) of Notes from underground on Interreligious dialogue


• Phil Wyman (Christian) of Square No More on A Christian Presenter at Pagan Pride!?


• Beth Patterson (Liberal Christian with Celtic undertones) of Virtual Tea House on Same Stove, Different Teapots


• Yvonne Aburrow (Wiccan Unitarian) of the dance of the elements on Only connect

My Latest Read - on Shamanism by Eliad

Shamanism by EliadI have been reading "Shamanism: archaic techniques of ecstasy" my Mircea Eliad. After reading through the first two chapters I have been noticing that the initiatory rites of the Shamans are ecstatic dreams or visions which elements of Christ's death and resurrection, or at other times model His temptation in the wilderness.

I find some parallels of ecstatic experience in my own life. Could there be a regular prefiguration of Messianic call happening simultaneous in many cultures? I tend to think so, and this makes me wonder why the similarities of Christianity and other religions generally cause people to view Christianity as adopting Pagan practices. Could it not be possible that a single voice from the other side of this veil calls out to various cultures in similar, but culturally adapted modalities?

Okay, I suppose that was a weird, and overly complex connection. But if you are up for a great read from a fine scholar who was the world's foremost authority on Shamanism, follow the link above, and get the book.

Salem: No Place for Hating Witches - SynchroBlog for April 16th, 2008

I am able to take a little time and write this because I completed my taxes months ago.

I really wanted to get away from posting about Neo-Paganism. Yes, I live in Salem, and Witches, Wiccans, Pagans, and the like are the common fare of local experience. Yes, this is home to such groups as The Witchcraft League for Public Awareness, and yes, I do specifically have understanding about the goings-on in the Pagan community because of friendships I have developed over the years, but nonetheless one wishes to write about something else once in a while, but alas recent events have conspired to make this SynchroBlog on the subject of social justice, and the topic of Neo-Paganism blend into one.

On Saturday, April 12th Jerrie Hildebrand and Salem's No Place for Hate Committee organized a panel discussion featuring Jerrie (a Salem Witch and social activist), Salem State professor Elizabeth Duclos-Orsello, and Margot Adler: the host of NPR's "Justice Talking" and a famed Pagan author.

The focus of the public discussion was to highlight Wiccan/Pagan lifestyle and beliefs in order to break misguided public perceptions, and help bring healing and understanding to the community.

So, here is why I need to write about this in my SynchroBlog on Social Activism and Christian Mission - Our church supplied the sound system, and I ran the sound for the event.

An article in Salem News from Monday the 14th highlights this event.

The newspaper seemed to underestimate the crowd from my evaluation. It seemed that there were closer to 100 in the room, which seats about 220, and the Pagan population appeared to be a little more than half the group when hands were raised.

Margot and Jerrie gave a brief history of Neo-Paganism in the US, and in Salem specifically. After about an hour, questions were asked, and the Salem State professor monitored the questions.

Here are some of the statements, and questions which stood out to me during the evening:

Jerrie: "We are single, married, monogamous, with multiple partners, gay, heterosexual, and from every walk of life." That did define the room itself, and the Pagan community as I have come to know it over the years.

Margot: "People are not comfortable talking about religion. After 35 years I can count on two hands the number of people who have asked me to coffee in order to sit down and talk about what I believe." I later asked her if I could come down to new York City sometime and meet her over coffee (I did not mention I hate coffee), to talk about Paganism with her.

The newspaper article outlines some of the questions asked, and points of discussion, and covers the basics of the meeting. My point for writing this is something different altogether: What is the place of the church in creating peaceful discussion with other religious groups?

Reading the comments to the Salem News article one finds what appear to be rather mean spirited comments from Christians. I responded with an apology for the behavior of the those from my tribe who are supposed to be "peacemakers."

Is there a place for social activism to include Christians getting involved in anti-hate campaigns against religious groups with which we theologically disagree on fundamental points of doctrine and truth?

I say yes, and have received not a small portion of condemnation for it.

What do you say?

Repent America Street Preacher Found Guilty in Salem

Each of the last four years (actually it seems like more, but that's what the paper says) Michael Marcavage and his friends come to Salem to hold big signs, and preach through bullhorns on and just before Halloween. In the Salem News today there is story about Michael being found guilty.

Our church has a little history with Michael. He had some things to say about us in a recent article in Salem's other paper The Salem Gazette.

Here is Repent America's video taken during the arrest on Halloween:


Now, I have some distinct feelings about this issue, and will simply say a few things related the subject, which might help shed some light on the subject from a local pastor's point of view.

1. Repent America is not supported by any of the local churches in their activities here in Salem. I am not even aware of a local church which appreciates their activities (I suppose there may be one, but I am not aware of any.)

2. Over the last number of years I have known street performers, and people barking for events who have been asked to stop using amplification, and even stop working prior to the 10pm curfew set against such noise. Noise ordinances, public complaints, and crowd unruliness during Halloween night have all been reasons for the police request to stop. Preachers have NOT been the only individuals requested to stop.

3. Every year our church is the single largest Christian presence on the street during the month long Halloween season. We obey every request of the police, and if something unique pops up, we resolve the situation with the help of city officials before we resume our activities. Despite working with the police in this manner, we find that people stand in line for up to an hour to experience our events, and despite the fact that we do not emphasize making a decision to receive Jesus, we see between 30 and 40 people make that decision each year, because they ask how to get closer to God. (This is not information I have shared at any time before, because we are sensitive to the fact that Evangelical Christianity looks like it is FORCING conversion upon people, and we never want to be guilty of that heinous crime against nature - even though we are evangelical.)

4. Our people have been asked by the Pagan community to be protected from these same street preachers, and we went out to bring peace on the streets.

So, what do you think? Does taking away a bullhorn amount to restricting free speech?

UK Radio Interview Online Now

The radio show Premier Drive, which I was asked to speak on a couple weeks ago sent me the audio file of the interview. The show was an interview about the Witches in Salem, and the Christian community living here. I've downloaded the file onto The Gathering at Salem Website.

You'll find a link to the podcast of the show on the front page of our church website.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Tony Jones Honorable Mention? Holy Laughter!?

Tony Jones new book New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier includes a reference to our conference last May: "God for People Who Hate Church." In the forward of the book he says that he visited some extremes in respect to his Emergent church experiences while writing the book. We are listed as one extreme.

The fact that we practice dream interpretation believing that God still speaks to people in their dreams today like He did throughout the scriptures, and that we are from Pentecostal origins are the reason for this mention.

Here's the quote: ""As I was working on this manuscript, I was also on the road, speaking about this content to a variety of groups. In May 2007, I visited these five events in a whirlwind of travel..."

"A Pentecostal church in Massachusetts, where I participated in a conference titled 'God for People Who Hate Church' and shared the stage with witches and druids as they reflected on how they've been treated by Christians.

The National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., where I spoke about the challenge that emergent Christianity poses to the Episcopal Church at a conference called 'Church in the Twenty-First Century'"

"Within a week, I'd gone from sitting with Pentecostals who interpret one another's dreams and break out in 'Holy Spirit laughter' to addressing collared Episcopal priests in the second largest cathedral on the continent. That's theological whiplash."


So we get the honorable mention in the forward. Or was it honorable? Maybe it was just a mention, but here's my response: Holy Laughter!? What's up with that? There may have been a few people at the conference who were into that, but as a church The Gathering does not practice that, and never has.

I suppose on one hand we are considered to be on the Frontiers of church life. That's cool. I want to live on the front edge of Christian experience as it pertains to touching our needy world, but I'd like to be accurately defined. Laughter - good. Learning to laugh in a holy manner - even better. Holy Laughter as practiced and defined by some Pentecostal Revivalists - uhm, a bit weird for me.

So Tony - Thanks for the mention, but we'll be expecting a minor retraction in the second printing bro. ;-)

Some of you will remember that I specifically asked Tony how the Emergent Conversation could better embrace the Charismatics and Pentecostals who were identifying with its values. You may also remember that I thought his answer was fair, but insufficient. Does this Holy Laughter comment perhaps hint why? Perhaps there is an assumption that all Pentecostals are whacked, and practice Holy Laughter? Perhaps there is fear of embracing emotional forms of worship expression? But wouldn't Pentecostal emotional expression be a positive move away from the post-enlightenment reliance in a solely intellectual pursuit of God? Just a thought which quite frankly I owe to some of Jeff Gentry's thoughts in his sermon today at The Gathering.

Live Radio Interview Tomorrow in the UK

I've been asked to do a live radio interview in the UK tomorrow at 10:40am EST (USA). Premier Christian Radio is doing a telephone interview on Wednesday 26th with me at this time. The interview is for the Premier Drive show with Bridgitte Tetteh and Dave Rose.

This is what they asked me to consider:

"I wanted to talk about your ministry in Salem. Probably focusing on Paganism, Neo-Paganism, Witchcraft. To let out listeners realise that this still exists and understand that Witches are real people too.To understand how you can minister or talk to someone who may be into Witchcraft . To talk about your experiences with people that are in to Witchcraft."

I am told that interview will be "general and light."

If you would like to tune in to it you can do so online at Premier Christian Radio at 10:40am EST, or 7:40am PST for my West coast of the USA friends. This means 3:40pm for my friends in the UK.

Pub Theology, Pagans, Debates and Monks

On Tuesday night I held the first off what I hope to be many monthly Pub Theology groups. We met at The Old Spot on Essex Street in Salem. They have a few good ales on tap, and no one should attempt to do Pub Theology without good ales on tap. Halveston's Bitter and Twisted was my pint of choice. Okay 2 pints.

There were nine of us who eventually showed up. Five who were from The Gathering, or at least hung out with us occasionally, two Witches, and the rest were varying degrees of Christian in thought, but did not attend any church. Keiran who is studying at Harvard Divinity was there, and our nieghbor Sam, Christian Day and Leanne Marrama. Jorgelina was there, and myu friend who lives behind The Gathering - Tom, as well as Jeff Menasco, and Father Michael (Yes, the former Russian Orthodox monk has returned - I guess that's another post!)

So, we talked about how we come to decisions about the theological conclusions we make. What determines your theology was the question on the table. Father Michael lives in a perpetual state of spiritual warfare - Kieran and Jorgelina found that terminology disconcerting, and were vying for peace as the Christian Way. Tom feels strongly that Christians often live far too sad, and should have the victory of joy. Sam had his disagreeing thoughts with that as a standard for all people. Jeff added the Hindu illustration of the five blind men and the elephant, and that added some fuel to the fire of thought.

Then our Witch friends arrived, and we made a change in direction simply because it was now a more interfaith interaction. There was a moment in which Christian stated that he highly respected the Catholic Church. I stopped to note that this was a wow moment - Christians hearing a Witch respect the Church. This doesn't happen every day - we laughed. Then Father Michael gave an example of an exorcism prayer in the Russian Orthodox tradition. Christian and Leanne asked to see this, and Michael performed it over the both of the them with heir full accepting consent. This was enlightening for all, and slightly entertaining actually. It was complete with ritual prayers, holy water, the blessed host, and more.

Wow, this was a sometimes heated, fully entertaining, and great way to start our Pub Theology night. Life on the edge of adventure, and craziness is good. Everyone seemed to have a good time at the end of it all.

Blood Ritual and TV Cameras

This last Saturday, I was asked to speak on camera about the subject of Salem's Witches for a show on Treasure HD, which is part of VOOM network. They came to Salem to do a show on Witchcraft highlighting Christian Day, Leanne Marrama, Sandra Power, and the rest of the gang.

I was not sure what the show was about, and did not have any talking points. I simply arrived at the shop Christian recently purchased, asked a few questions concerning context, and was placed in front of a camera.

Kevin, the director of the show "Magnificent Obsessions" asked a few questions: Who I was, and some basic info about the our church The Gathering. Our history of being excommunicated from our previous denomination, because they were afraid of Christians who were on friendly terms with Witches came up.

After a few questions Kevin mentioned that they just finished filming a ritual, and it included the use of blood. He wanted to know what "the church" thought of that.

Now I wasn't particularly prepared for that question, but I did a good job of hiding a moment of surprise. My eyebrows were raising on the inside, but on the outside I held a calm collected unsurprised expression.

You see, I was wondering how to respond to this one. I have many friends who are Witches, and many friends who are Christians. Typically they do not get along with one another, and so I figured this was a question which could leave me up a creek without a paddle with one camp or the other.

If I said that blood ritual is satanic I would alienate many of my Pagan friends. If I said it was acceptable to practice blood ritual I would alienate all my Christian friends. Yet most importantly I had to say what I believe is true, and not play some kind of popularity game.

So, what was I to do?

First of all I did condemn the practice of animal and human sacrifice, but quickly added that this was not what my Neo-Pagan friends were practicing.

Christianity, and its mother religion Judaism have their own connection to blood ritual. We are by our own admittance, and with great pride bloody religions. Sacrifices and war fill the scriptures from Genesis to Malachi. The sacrifice of Christ with an emphasis upon His blood becomes the central point of the Gospel in the New Testament. We sing hymns and choruses about the "Power in the Blood,"

Does the pricking of a finger and the drop of blood in chalice, or the more peculiar use of menstrual blood in spell casting post-figuratively speak to the power of the blood of which I have joyously sung in the comparatively tame church services of my Pentecostal tradition?

As I responded to this question from the producer of the show, and since then have pondered it further it causes to me consider the issue of blood in the religion I practice, and causes me to place it in a position which makes sense both of the power aspect, and of the lack of actual blood in today's Christian services.

Yes, blood has power. As Moses reminds us, "the life is in the blood." Christ's blood has the power of forgiveness, cleansing, and healing in it, and even though we celebrate the Lord's Cup regularly, we look back to the sacrifice which was "once and for all."

As Christians we primarily look back to the blood (even though Orthodox and Catholic Communions may beg to differ here). The blood of Christ was shed two millenia ago, and it has become the focal point of our religious experience. We pursue becoming "peacemakers" to evidence our identification with Christ, and reject the idea that the shedding of blood in war has any eternally effective power in the solving the problems of this world. In terms of identifying power in blood we look back.

As the Mosaic laws of sacrifice prefigured the power in Christ's blood, it may be that blood ritual of the Neo-Paganism post-figuratively speaks in the same manner - There is power in the blood.

MacArthur and Emergent Pagans!?

I have a lot of contact with the Emergent Conversation, and I have a lot of contact with Neo-Pagans. Now John MacArthur tells me that they are the same. I'm not sure he knows either group very well. They don't look the same to me. I wonder what he's thinking. So, here's the quote.

Beyond the Pall (Part 8): Living in a Pagan World

(Beyond the Pall is a continuing series following missional engagement with the Neo-Pagan community in Salem, MA and beyond. The story began with the death of a friend who was a prominent Witch in Salem. I was a pall-bearer at his funeral, and so this series carries the title with its not un-purposeful similarity to the term “beyond the pale.”)

Photo by Christine Cleere found at The Druid NetworkWe were six in number. They were 250. I've been out numbered by far larger odds in ministry outreach settings before, but these numbers were more intimidating for the average Christian than when I was one of 12 Christians among 5,000 Mormons. We were six Christians among 250 Druids. Some pastors would have felt like Elijah among the prophets of Baal. I felt at home and among friends. The five others with me would feel that way at the end of three days.

We offered to hold a Dream Interpretation booth at the Lammas Games. They accepted, and we planned the first few days of our mission trip to join the Druids in South Oxfordshire. Daniel interpreted dreams in Pagan Babylon. Certainly we could try to do so in a Neo-Pagan gathering in Britain.

We arrived early, and found a campsite location in the afternoon shade. We helped haul the roughhewn wood, and put our hands to building the stage. We got to know the leaders of the event, and then we built our own booth from the same roughhewn lumber.

From our shady location we could watch all the happenings for the event. The food and ale were to the left of us, and ferret racing was near the stage directly across from us. The sound system was powered by two stationary bicycles, which volunteers took turns pedaling.

In the center of the event a circle was formed with eight tall flags. This would be the location of the ritual at the end of the day.

As people began to fill the site, we interpreted dreams for a few. Others simply wanted to know what we were doing there. They heard we were Christians, and asked us how it was that we could attend the event. Each time this question was asked, I asked in return, "do you think Jesus would avoid coming here?" Of course, no one thought that Jesus would have avoided the event, and we began to wonder how it was that Christianity and Jesus were not perceived in the same light.

As the day wore on, a small cadre of vendors and attendees began to gather around us. They sat and talked with us, and shared their life stories. With some regularity, people shared their interest in, and sometimes even their love for Jesus, but their dislike, and wholesale rejection of Church and Christianity was evident. Again we wondered how Jesus and Christianity became so detached from one another in the eyes of those outside the church.

Our little troupe was relatively comfortable in this strange setting of hippies, spear chucking, the mention of Pagan deities, and ale drinking. The booth next to us heard me play my guitar and sing. They asked if I was joining the competition for the "Spear of Lugh." The holder of the Spear of Lugh would stand as the Druidic Bard for the year. I put my five pound entry fee into the pot, assuming that a Christian Pastor would not be allowed to hold the Spear of Lugh, and become the Druidic Bard, but it would be fun to perform for a large gathering of Druids nonetheless.

In the late afternoon, a ritual was held. They formed a circle and gave thanks for the events of the year, for the giving of the harvest, for the gentle breezes, for the warmth of the sun, and for the rains. They laughed about the rains, because floods had happened all across the UK that year. They called to the East, South, West, and North, but nothing in their gathering required a person to declare allegiance to Pagan gods or goddesses. It was simply a remembrance, and celebration of life. A few of us from the missions trip joined the circle, and gave thanks with them.

In the early evening, while the sun was still fairly high in the sky the eisteddfod began. The eisteddfod was the competition of musicians and poets. The current holder of the Spear of Lugh, the first Bardic champion of the games, and a leader of the Druid Network sat as judges. The crowd gathered in the circle of flags, and faced the stage. Poets recited, and musicians sang - some quite professionally, and others joyously in need of a shepherd's crook, or a final buzzer. Much like a church talent contest it had a wide range of skills.

When my turn came, I sang a song about a Gargoyle. I wrote it in response to seeing the cathedrals in the UK some years before. Its theme was that of a mysterious message long forgotten by people, despite the fact that they walk under its shadow every day - a bit like the Gospel itself. Treeman, and Spacegirl thought that I most certainly would be the winner, even though we had been bantering in good jest about who was going outperform whom.

In the end Treeman won, and our little cadre of Pagan friends felt I got shafted. I smiled knowing that a Christian Pastor holding the Spear of Lugh for a year would be a weird experience.

Later that night we sat around the fire with our new Druid friends. People were drinking, and songs were sung, stories told, and poems recited. Everyone got involved, and we laughed, and sometimes we cried, and somehow our little Christian troupe felt strangely at home.

In the morning Paul was still sitting by the fire. He kept it burning all night as the tradition warranted. Paul had been the winner of the Spear of Lugh and the Bard for the previous year. I learned that Paul was a Druid, and a Mormon. He shared how he had been a Christian minister at one time, and that I had encouraged him to return to prayer, and to considering ministry once again. I smiled, and wondered how a person could be a Mormon, a Christian Minister and a Neo-Pagan Druid. He smiled, and I am sure he wondered how an Evangelical Christian Pastor could hang out at the Lammas Games.

As we left the Lammas Games to travel to our next location we considered how this event would change our reading of the New Testament. We were among the few people in America who would read the writings of St. Paul, and know exactly how he felt when he spoke of struggling over eating meat offered to idols, and dealing with the celebration of Pagan holydays. Paul the Apostle lived in a Pagan world, and if only for just a few days - so did we.

An Evening with Spencer and Tod, and PresbYmergent and Karen Sloan

So, last night I did a session with The Oozy guy Spencer Burke. We were at the Cascade People's Center in Seattle. Wow, it was fun! The water reclamation pump kept making noise behind me, and it reminded me of coolness of the place. They were recycling their water for use in the sinks, and toilet. Each time I heard the pump, I thought, "I like this place." Tod Hunter spoke about his view of what's happening in church - he runs Alpha for the US, and use to be the president of the Vineyard Churches in the US. Those are some deep credentials. He and Spencer did a question/answer interview thingy for about 45 minutes, then I did the same thing with Spencer. Spencer is Mr. SoCal Cool, so it easy to do these kind of things with him, but it took an interesting turn, because people automatically began to jump in with questions, and from that point it was a question and answer thing going on for the next 45 minutes. Talking about Neo-Paganism and Witchcraft to Christians can be a lively discussion, and this was one in which people were seriously interested in learning to understand Neo-Paganism without being judgmental. What a cool group of people. Fun time. Before the event I was hanging out with PresbYmergent girl Karen Sloan, and her PresbYmergent gang at an Indian Restaurant run by a Greek guy - great edgy Indian food - I had pomegranate chicken - yeah that rocks, simply by the name. After the evening event we went to a Belgian pub with some of the same gang. Broward's in the Fremont District is a Belgian pub with 150 beers on tap. I think it may be Karen Ward's favorite pub.

Catching up on Blogging the Conference

Yesterday afternoon John Smulo and I taught on "Loving Witches and other missional mythbusters."

It was a one hour and 10 minute workshop. John is so good, so smart, so gentle. It was fun teaching with him. Both John and I are finding people who know about us, and have been wanting to meet us. This world of blogging is a major reason for this.

The workshop went well. It was a very receptive group. Some of them had friends, and loved ones who were in Wiccans, or Pagans, and weren't sure how to deal with it, but for the most part understood that they needed to remain accepting, and loving. Others were simply wondering how to relate to the Pagan community, although they did not know any Witches. As is the always the case they will discover that they do know Neo-Pagans. Regularly, John and I discover that we train people about beliefs of Neo-Paganism, and then when the Christians walk away from the time, they discover in a short amount of time that Wiccans, Druids, or Pagans in their neighborhood, or workplace, and they had never realized it. They actually become excited, and honored to discover that their Pagan friends are willing to "come out of the broom closet" to them - this is the way it ought to be. Christians should be like Jesus, Who is someone we can all feel like we can come out to.