Holy haunting

Halloween is a mixed bag. Talk to any 10-year-old and it’s a chance to frolic around in a costume and gorge on Tootsie Rolls and Butterfingers. But there’s no denying the occult origins of the holiday and its resulting bad reputation in Christian circles. So what’s a church to do?

For a Halloween party at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Vineland, N.J., Karen W. Bernhardt, associate in ministry and “Egyptian princess,” tells of the sixth plague that God sent against the Egyptians. Kids could put their hands in a bowl of gel, which represented skin disease (Exodus 9:8-12).

At Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Vineland, N.J., Halloween gets a biblical makeover. Each year, youth are treated to a party at the church with a different biblical theme. This year’s theme, “Journey through the Ocean Deep where Serpents and Sea Monsters Never Sleep!” will feature the story of Noah, Jonah, the great catch, the stormy sea, the loaves and fishes, and the “Island of Peace.” Previous themes included: “Lost and Found,” “Journey from the Valley of the Dry Bones to the Mountain of Light” and “The Ten Plagues.”