Last Saturday was a busy day around BUF. From Choir Sectionals, to a Pathways for Newcomers class, to decorating the Sanctuary for the Sunday service, to a Witches Dance, to an Open-Mic Night, there were folks coming and going all day.
I myself joined the Pathways class for a bit, where I shared in some wonderful discussion with the nine people who attended (it was a great group—many thanks to Felice Davis and Ellen Berning for facilitating the class!). I then headed down to my office to sort and organize the ~1,000 pieces of candy I'd purchased for Candy Communion on Sunday (see the attached photo for the full pile of candy before it was sorted into buckets—it was quite a haul!).
I first heard the idea for a Candy Communion from a colleague, and I thought it would fit perfectly in our Sunday service centered around this very special time of year—the time of Samhain, All Saints, Halloween, and Dia de los Muertos, when the veil between worlds is said to be thin. In fact, the ancient Celtic holiday of Samhain is still celebrated today as Halloween—a holiday where the costumes and candy often get the most attention. But look beneath the surface of the shiny costumes and bright candy wrappers, and you'll find a holiday of community with its largest ritual—trick or treating—connecting us with our neighbors and local neighborhoods, where we give and receive the gift of candy. As Rev. Ana Levy-Lyons describes it:
"The candy is just a currency backed by the gold of face-to-face human connection. Its sweetness is the sweetness of the nurturing love of the whole village. The exchange of this currency–household to household, adult to child, child to child–is a kind of secular communion. We give, we receive, we trust, we participate…it’s those connections, it’s that communion between people that we celebrate on Halloween."
So, we celebrated this form of communion on Sunday, blessing the candy, and inviting our children and youth to share it with those in the pews, then receiving some for themselves. It was beautiful and chaotic and meaningful and fun. It is a tradition I hope we return to in future years.
Whether you celebrate this weekend in ancient Samhain or modern Halloween ways, may you find the sweetness of community and connection.
Rev. Sunny, minister
