To the People of God at Harwich UMC

The month of October has at least 2 well-known dates, “Columbus Day” and Halloween!   And like recent Covid history, they both feature Masks….

The  Halloween excuse to “become something else” for a day has a long association with CANDY for young people and some fun as well as some darker associations with the macabre.  For the Music Teacher it is the opportunity to have the class listen to Camille Saint-Saëns – Danse Macabre:  FYI:   https://youtu.be/YyknBTm_YyM?feature=shared

The night before the Holy Day of All Saints is the recognition that we are mortal – a time for prayer, remembering, and centering.  Like so many holy days it has secular connotations that some people resist.  While we stand “unmasked” before God, we tend to have a “public” face for the world and a more vulnerable experience of our “real” selves.  We wear many masks! For many reasons.

Columbus Day has traditionally been recognized as a Day when we celebrated the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus in 1492.  However, upon the 500^th anniversary of that date in 1992 people started to acknowledge that Indigenous Peoples populated these lands long before Columbus arrived!  There was no need to “discover” and conquer these lands except for the Europeans – and some people made that discovery even before Columbus.  Is it a mask that history wears that refuses to be inclusive of everyone’s reality?

It is said that there is YOUR truth and MY truth and THE TRUTH.  God knows the truth of the masks we wear.  And God Loves all of us equally.  As for me – I love a holiday, a reason to be joyful and take a break.

This year we can pause to remember that God’s history with the world includes all people and God has a history with Indigenous Peoples as well as the invading Europeans who came to live here.  God has an agenda for us to embrace one another instead of hiding behind masks and misconceptions.

Enjoy October 2023 and celebrate that God is Good – All the Time!

Pastor Dianne