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| Local churches celebrate Halloween with a twist |
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| Written by Jonathan Partridge / Patterson Irrigator / | |
| Saturday, 03 November 2007 | |
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Harvest hoopla! Local churches draw families to alternative events.  Jonathan Partridge / Patterson Irrigator Dozens of local residents stopped by for free candy, coffee and hot chocolate, while members of First Baptist Church talked about the gospel and promoted their Friday-night coffeehouse gathering in front of a miniature lighthouse.
 Jonathan Partridge / Patterson Irrigator Sacred Heart’s celebration emphasized All Saint’s Day with contests for children who dressed as saints and candy given to children who could match pictures of saints with cards saying what they had done. There were plenty of other activities for kids, too, such as pie-eating and doughnut-eating contests. “I’m the champion!” proclaimed Sonia Jimenez, 12, after she wolfed down a piece of pumpkin pie using no hands. Parishioner Tammy Ulibarri said Sacred Heart’s event is hosted by its Kids in the Spirit program. Kids only needed to bring a can of food for Thanksgiving baskets and a bag of candy to participate.  Jonathan Partridge / Patterson Irrigator The church traditionally has had one of the biggest celebrations in town, with a bounce house, Velcro wall and tons of indoor carnival games. Children lined up for the ring toss, a putting green and other games and had the chance to get their faces painted. The Rev. Kent Pedersen, pastor of New Hope, said the event attracts churchgoers, people from other churches and folks who don’t attend church at all. “It’s just open to the community to go out and have a good time,” Pedersen said. One parent, Francisco Sergio, described the party as a fun, positive event that avoided some of Halloween’s dark themes. “I wish the whole town would do what we’re doing right now instead of celebrating Halloween,” he said. Meanwhile, Brown gave kudos to Family Christian Center’s Harvest Party because of its safe atmosphere. “It’s a safe haven for children, being here rather than out on the streets, with gang violence … and child violators,” she said. Children at that church’s event sang praise songs, watched a puppet show and listened to Peggy Cook read a modern-day parable about a farmer’s pumpkin patch before doing crafts and playing games.  Jonathan Partridge / Patterson Irrigator She described the harvest party as an outreach event. “It’s another opportunity to reach the town for Jesus,” Cook said. Meanwhile, outreach also was the focus of the Lighthouse program, which provided food, glow sticks and entertainment for trick-or-treaters. In addition to the home on Red Robin Drive, the church set up another house on Traina Drive for the same purpose. Stoppe said the event was a good opportunity for First Baptist Church to reach out to the community. “There are tons of people who walk up and down this street who would never walk into a church,” he said. “The bonus pack ... is that we have our hope in Jesus Christ.” To reach Jonathan Partridge at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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I was surprised to read “It’s a safe haven for children, being here rather than out on the streets, with gang violence … and child violators." Have there been problems previously on Halloween?