It definitely broke my heart a bit to have to announce that we would not be doing the Raven Dinner Theatre this year. A few of us had thrown around some ideas about how to approach such a thing in these pandemic times, but nothing seemed satisfactory. We’ve been having this Halloween event since, I believe, 2008 (or was it 2007?). Previous to being the Raven Dinner Theatre, it was the UNICEF Halloween Festival, and we would have a small haunted house, games for the kids, and a BBQ on the patio. We changed it to a “potluck dinner theatre” because, well, times change, the community changes, and programming needs to be reinvented. So here we are in 2020 and “reinventing” has been taken to a whole new level!

As difficult and fatiguing as these times may be, I hope that we can offer ourselves grace and find some joy in reinventing the ways we do church. Let’s not be in a rush to do something just because it’s always been done. Let’s not push ourselves to do it perfectly but rather be brave enough to just try something new. Let us be ok with successes and failures, gathering it all up as important learning experiences while we forge ahead into a new future. Just living through a pandemic and such tumultuous political and social times is enough pressure, we don’t need to add to it unnecessarily!

Perhaps this Halloween metaphor can help us envision a new way: the cauldron. In times past, the cauldron was used to make meals and even medicines (which is why it’s associated with witches and magic). This essential pot of creation was located in the hearth of home, central to the gathering of the family. In this pot went all sorts of ingredients for the creation of that which can heal and nourish. I imagine over the generations there was much experimenting with techniques and elements to find the best results. The cauldron is a place of synergy, much like a church, where separate ideas come together, and with a bit of heat, pressure, and some mixing, can create something greater than any of the items on their own. Let us all contribute to our community cauldron in these times so that we may create new ways for healing and health. We (the leadership and I) want your ideas as we reinvent the ways in which we “do church”. What do you need? What do you want? What can you imagine? Don’t ever hesitate to reach out to us with the answers to these questions, even if you think it’s just some silly little thing. That silly little thing could be the essential ingredient to a reinvented, life-giving recipe!