The Time of Tricksters
Updated: Oct 25
Sunday Service, 25 October 2026
Led by Rev. Dr. Jane Blackall and Antony Bunsee
Musical Prelude: The Haunted Ballroom by Paul Edis (performed by Sophia Kannathsan and Andrew Robinson)
Opening Words: ‘A Holy Alchemy’ by Kim Mason (adapted)
Once upon a time
chemists believed
they could transform
lead into gold
or death into life.
We might laugh –
but are we not also
in the business of alchemy?
Turning loneliness into connection,
pain into comfort,
anger into solidarity,
faith into action?
The subtle magic of church:
combines love with justice,
creates hope out of fear,
transforms individuals into community.
Here we engage in
a holy alchemy,
finding beauty in the ordinary
and life in the present.
This morning, let us be transformed, together.
Words of Welcome and Introduction:
These words from Kim Mason welcome all who have gathered this morning for our Sunday service. Welcome to those who have gathered in-person at Essex Church, to all who are joining via Zoom, and anyone tuning in at a later date via YouTube or the podcast stream. For anyone who doesn’t know me, I’m Jane Blackall, and I’m minister with Kensington Unitarians. It’s good to be back with you again – in my spiritual home – after a few weeks away.
This morning’s service is titled ‘The Time of Tricksters’. It’s both a nod to ‘spooky season’, as it’s called these days – the extended period running up to Halloween – and also a slightly broader exploration of the tradition of mocking the monstrous, rebelling through acts of mischief, and laughing in the face of fear. What larger life lessons might we learn from this season? Later in today’s service we’ll hear a reflection – ‘A Trickster’s Treatise’ – from our very own resident trickster, Antony Bunsee, who is really in his element at this time of year!
Chalice Lighting: ‘A Reminder’ by Pat Uribe-Lichty (adapted)
Let’s light our chalice flame now, as we do each week. It’s a moment for us to stop and take a breath, settle ourselves down, put aside any preoccupations we came in carrying. This simple ritual connects us in solidarity with Unitarians the world over, and reminds us of the proud and historic progressive religious tradition of which this gathering is part.
(light chalice)
The chalice is a symbol of our faith:
We light it as a reminder of
what we share as a community
and of who each of us is called to be.
When we feel lost in a chaotic world
May the light of our chalice show us our path.
When we are afraid of the times we live in
May the light of our chalice give us courage.
When we despair at the injustice and cruelty around us
May the light of our chalice recall us to a faithful hope.
Our chalice is a symbol of our commitment
to each other and to ourselves.
We light it as a gathered community
that we may live boldly in service of the good.
Hymn 147 (purple): ‘Spirit of Earth, Root, Stone and Tree’
Let us sing together. This is not an easy topic to find hymns for, so our choices are a bit tangential today! Our first hymn is number 147 (purple), ‘Spirit of Earth, Root, Stone and Tree’. For those joining on zoom the words will be up on screen. Feel free to stand or sit as you prefer.
Spirit of earth, root, stone and tree,
water of life, flowing in me,
keeping me stable, nourishing me,
O fill me with living energy!
Spirit of nature, healing and free,
spirit of love, expanding in me,
spirit of life, breathe deeply in me,
inspire me with living energy!
Spirit of love, softly draw near,
open my heart, lessen my fear,
sing of compassion, help me to hear,
O fill me with loving energy!
Spirit of nature, healing and free,
spirit of love, expanding in me,
spirit of life, breathe deeply in me,
inspire me with living energy!
Spirit of life, you are my song,
sing in my soul, all my life long,
gladden and guide me, keep me from wrong,
O fill me with sacred energy!
Spirit of nature, healing and free,
spirit of love, expanding in me,
spirit of life, breathe deeply in me,
inspire me with living energy!
Candles of Joy and Concern:
Each week when we gather together, we share a simple ritual of candles of joy and concern, an opportunity to light a candle and share something that is in our heart with the community. So we’ve an opportunity now, for anyone who would like to do so, to light a candle and say a few words about what it represents. We’ll go to the people in the building first, then to Zoom.
So I invite some of you here in person to come and light a candle and then if you wish to tell us who or what you light your candle for – please keep it brief – be considerate of others. I’m going to ask you to come to the lectern to speak, as we want people to be able to hear you.
(in person candles)
And if that’s everyone in the room we’ll go over to the people on Zoom next – you might like to switch to gallery view at this stage – just unmute yourselves when you are ready and speak out – and we should be able to hear you and see you up on the big screen here in the church.
(zoom candles)
And I’m going to light one more candle, as we often do, to represent all those joys and concerns that we hold in our hearts this day, but which we don’t feel able to speak out loud. (light candle)
Time of Prayer & Reflection: based on words by Maureen Killoran
Let’s take those joys and concerns into an extended time of prayer. The prayer is based on words by Maureen Killoran – her prayer takes the form of a ‘Celtic Lorica’ – a prayer of protection against harm. You might want to adjust your position, close your eyes, or soften your gaze. There might be a posture that helps you feel more prayerful. Whatever helps you get into the right state of body and mind for us to pray together – be fully present – with ourselves, with each other, and with that which is both within us and beyond us. (pause)
Spirit of Life, God of All Love, in whom we live and move and have our being,
we turn our full attention to you, the light within and without,
as we tune in to the depths of this life, and the greater wisdom
to which – and through which – we are all intimately connected.
Be with us now as we allow ourselves to drop into the
silence and stillness at the very centre of our being. (pause)
Spirit of Blessing, be with us, in the ordinariness of our days.
May hope’s light guard us and keep cynicism from our hearts.
May the energy of laughter build endurance for the tough times of our lives.
May creativity’s vision grant the possibility of seeing old relationships with new eyes.
May the oil of healing keep us from anger’s hardness or despair.
May the mantle of humility give us courage to admit when we are wrong.
May compassion’s loom weave in us the discipline to forgive.
May patience help us bear in mind that ours is not the only scale of time.
May the flame of justice be a beacon for the choices we must make.
May peace be ever in us and sustain us through these stressful days.
Spirit of Blessing, be with us, in the ordinariness of our days. (pause)
And let us take a few moments now to look inward, get in touch with what’s real,
what is going on beneath the surface of our lives this morning.
Let us notice what we’re carrying. What troubles us. What is bubbling up.
What questions or uncertainties we are faced with. What hopes and dreams we nurture.
And from that place of realness – silently, inwardly, ask for
what you most need – ask God, or cast it out into the Universe –
even if you’re the only one to hear your prayer – name what you need this day. (pause)
And let give thanks for what we already have. Look back on the week
and recall all those moments of kindness, comfort, pleasure, even joy.
Silently, inwardly, take the time to savour those gifts, and take in the good. (pause)
And let us turn outwards now, shifting our attention to the world around us,
starting with those dear ones closest to our heart, stretching ever outward,
and spreading all around this planet, holding all beings in the light of love. (pause)
Spirit of Life – God of all Love – as this time of prayer comes to a close, we offer up
our joys and concerns, our hopes and fears, our beauty and brokenness,
and we call on you for insight, healing, and renewal.
As we look forward now to the coming week,
help us to live well each day and be our best selves;
using our unique gifts in the service of love, justice and peace. Amen.
Hymn 193 (purple): ‘We Laugh, We Cry’
Let’s sing again – our second hymn is number 193 in your purple books – ‘We Laugh, We Cry’. It’s always been a very popular one but it’s a long one so brace yourselves. Stand or sit as you prefer.
We laugh, we cry, we live, we die; we dance, we sing our song.
We need to feel there's something here to which we all belong.
We need to feel the freedom just to have some time alone.
But most of all we need close friends we can call our very own.
And we believe in life, and in the strength of love;
and we have found a need to be together.
We have our hearts to give, we have our thoughts to receive;
and we believe that sharing is an answer.
A child is born among us, and we feel a special glow.
We see time's endless journey as we watch the baby grow.
We thrill to hear imagination freely running wild.
We dedicate our minds and hearts to the spirit of this child.
And we believe in life, and in the strength of love;
and we have found a time to be together.
And with the grace of age, we share the wonder of youth,
and we believe that growing is an answer
Our lives are full of wonder, and our time is very brief.
The death of one among us fills us all with pain and grief.
But as we live, so shall we die, and when our lives are done
the memories we shared with friends, they will linger on and on.
And we believe in life, and in the strength of love;
and we have found a place to be together.
We have the right to grow, we have the gift to believe
that peace within our living is an answer.
We seek elusive answers to the questions of this life.
We seek to put an end to all the waste of human strife.
We search for truth, equality, and blessed peace of mind.
And then we come together here, to make sense of what we find.
And we believe in life, and in the strength of love;
and we have found a joy to be together.
And in our search for peace, maybe we'll finally see:
even to question truly is an answer.
Mini-Reflection: ‘Laughing in the Face of Fear’ by Jane Blackall
So, today’s service is titled ‘The Time of Tricksters’. I realised, belatedly, that it’s a title that could be taken in a number of different ways. I was originally thinking of it in terms of the season of Halloween with all its traditions of mischief and mayhem. Also thinking of the archetype of the Trickster which turns up in many different cultures, in varied guises, as a clever figure who disrupts the status quo – crossing boundaries, breaking rules, challenging convention – usually behaving unpredictably and shaking things up.
But it also occurs to me that on hearing that title, ‘The Time of Tricksters’, you might instead have taken it as a reference to this troubled and troubling era we’re living through – thinking perhaps of certain world leaders and billionaires – tricksters of a different kind, perhaps, in the sense that they have little regard for truth-telling, and they put immense resources into the project of spreading misinformation and promoting conspiracy theories, largely via social media. I’m thinking of how catastrophically this trickery has sabotaged action on climate change, undermined public health, made scapegoats of immigrants and minorities, and had so many other detrimental effects on our collective wellbeing. ‘The Time of Tricksters’ could equally refer to the armies of scammers, phishers, and bot farms that exist to cheat and manipulate the masses; the vast industrial machinery which is charged with spreading confusion – whipping up chaos, division, and social unrest – and doing all this for the benefit of the few.
These interpretations of our theme – the fun mischief of Halloween traditions, the archetypal Trickster who shakes up the status quo, and the monstrous manipulation of this political era with all its potentially terrible consequences for all of humanity – these disparate strands are not entirely unrelated to each other. We live in scary times. But Halloween reminds us, perhaps, that we can still choose to laugh in the face of fear.
Just this week, Scott G. Eberle wrote in Psychology Today: ‘We surely have enough real potential catastrophes to worry about in this Halloween season—orbiting nukes that could detonate and fry our power grid, for example, or glacial collapse that would flood coastal cities and stifle the Gulf Stream, or election subversion from power-hungry office-holders. Yet in this spooky season, we celebrate the macabre… and laugh in its face. Play is therapy… Halloween comfortably flirts with the edge of disorder and dismay, as a way of both satirizing everyday obedient humdrum and combatting haunting feelings. At Halloween, we laugh our fears away…’ Words from Scott G. Eberle.
Now, I want to add an important caveat here, and that’s to say: I’m not in favour of enforced jollity! That’s not what I’m suggesting. Perhaps there is something to be said for a ‘fake it til you make it’ approach to try and cajole ourselves out of despondency but I don’t feel good about insincerity. To make out that we’re having a laugh when we actually feel terrible is just false – I personally find it so painful that I just can’t do it.
As a bit of a side note, when I was choosing hymns today, the most obvious choice to fit our theme was ‘Celebrate the Gift of Laughter’ aka ‘Glory to the Cosmic Comic’. But I refused to pick it, even though it could not be more on-topic, because I find the words unbearable. For me they smack of a kind of toxic positivity. It goes: ‘Put away all gloom and sadness, let there be no lingering trace; celebrate life's joy and gladness with a smile on every face!’ and ‘Cultivate the art of clowning, seek the joy in midst of pain. Smiling's easier than frowning, seek the rainbow in the rain!’
No. I’m not having that! We can’t just tell people to cheer up and paste on a smile. If we feel downcast and anxious right now, well, it’s not without good reason. We have many legitimate reasons to be afraid. And, up to a point, the fear serves a purpose. Fear can spur us to act, to protect ourselves from perceived danger, and we might think about those actions through the lens of trauma responses: fight, flight, freeze, fawn, and flop. Sometimes fear makes us stand up to the trouble, take it head on; sometimes it makes us run away from it; or leaves us paralysed, cowed, shut down.
When we find ourselves in scary situations these responses help us to survive. They’re involuntary reactions which might just get us through a moment of emergency. But I’d suggest it’s not good for us humans to get stuck in this state for the long-term. We can find ourselves gripped by fear – fixated by the horrors – with our internal panic button pressed and the sirens going off all the time – our nervous system endlessly jangling – waking up anxious every day to the extent that it stops us from actually living our lives.
Fear does serve a purpose – we need to pay attention to it – but not to be ruled by it. The quote on the front of today’s order of service, from writer George MacDonald, speaks to this. He says: ‘There is no harm in being afraid. The only harm is in doing what Fear tells you. Fear is not your master! Laugh in his face and he will run away.’
In recent years, I’ve had times when the state of the world (and the responsibilities of being a grown-up) have left me in the grip of The Fear, overwhelmed by anxiety. And one of my regular coping strategies when I realise I’m in this fearful state is to turn to comedy. Comedy, for me, can be medicine – first aid, perhaps, in the first instance – on one level it’s just a way to take my mind off the things that are troubling me. My favourite comedy podcast, Three Bean Salad, is absurd and rambling and ridiculous, and as such I find it very soothing when I need a break from the horrors. It takes me out of myself for a while and reconnects me with decent, if silly, humanity. With its good-natured, whimsical, in-jokes between listeners it leaves me feeling like I’m part of some benevolent gang.
But there’s more to comedy than that. Comedy is not just distraction. The best comedians help us to see life differently – in the tradition of the holy fool, perhaps – using humour to bypass our defences, bringing us to valuable insights, and telling us the truths we need to hear (truths which might just help us overcome the forces of evil).
There are ethical dimensions to comedy that we need to consider too. Comedy, like all human inventions, can be used for good or ill. Much is said these days about whether comedy is ‘punching up’ or ‘punching down’ – is it being used to mock the monstrous powers who are causing harm and try to bring them down a peg or two – or is it being used to bully oppressed groups who are already suffering harm? Some might say ‘lighten up, it’s just a joke’, but for me, that’s just an excuse – it’s an abdication of responsibility –I’ve got no time for anyone who abuses marginalised groups to court notoriety and fame. Personally, I only feel safe with comedians who seem to have a good heart, those who are trying to make the world better with their art, as well as just trying to make us laugh. I’m thinking of people like Josie Long, Robin Ince, James Acaster, and Nish Kumar, but I imagine you have your own favourite comics, past and present, that you could name.
Now, the fact that I consider these comedians to have a good heart, doesn’t mean they’re soft or lightweight. They’re often fuelled by righteous anger at the state of the world (Nish Kumar’s latest stand-up show is pleasingly titled ‘Angry Humour from a Really Nice Guy’). These comics are scared about the same things I’m scared about. And they name the fear. But they don’t leave us in its grip. At their best, they can break us out of it, with laughter. And encourage their audience to have the courage to pick themselves up and go on. They are tricksters in the positive, archetypal, sense of the word – unruly, provocative, they say the things that might not otherwise get said – often speaking truth to power. As therapist/anthropologist Bradford Keeney has written: ‘Laugh to melt away the edge of fear. The greatest fear of despots and dictators is joy. Bring in the clowns, merry tricksters, and sacred fools, and watch the politicians get laughed out of office.’
So in the coming days, as Halloween approaches, I’d like to invite you to think about ‘The Time of Tricksters’ in this light – looking to the holy fools and conscious comics – that they might help us to resist the encroaching horrors and laugh in the face of fear.
Words for Meditation: ‘Hello, Fear’ by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
We’re moving into a time of meditation now. To take us into stillness, I’m going to share a poem by – who else? – Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer. It’s called ‘Hello, Fear’, and in keeping with our theme, it speaks of our relationship to fear, and how we might respond to it in ways other than being gripped or paralysed by it. After the poem, we will hold a few minutes of silence, which will end with the sound of a bell. Then we’ll hear music for meditation. So let’s do what we need to do to get comfortable – adjust your position – put your feet flat on the floor to ground yourself – close your eyes. These words are just an offering, feel free to use this time to meditate in your own way.
‘Hello, Fear’ by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer
There I was, making tea in my kitchen,
when fear hit me like a school bus.
I didn’t need a scientist or therapist
to tell me it hurt.
I screamed: Arghh! I shouted: No!
But after smashing into me,
fear just opened the folding glass door
of the bus, yanked me on,
then plopped me into a green vinyl seat.
I’m scared, I said.
Yeah, fear said. ’Cause I’m scary.
Yeah, I squealed, as the bus careened
through the couch, through
my bedroom, through the splintering
dining room table.
What if I lose everything? I said to fear.
Yeah, said fear, what if you do?
And who will I be when everything changes?
Yeah, said fear, who will you be?
Then he opened the door
and shoved me off the bus
and I was standing again beside
the familiar green counter,
tea cup in hand, not a drop spilled.
Who will you be? he shouted
from the half open window.
I took a deep breath,
not knowing how to respond,
then stepped into my life,
determined to live into the answer.
Period of Silence and Stillness (~3 minutes) – end with a bell
Interlude: Evening Prayer (from Hansel and Gretel) by Engelbert Humperdinck (performed by Sophia Kannathasan and Andrew Robinson)
Reading: ‘It Takes Courage to Laugh’ by Christine Sharpe (excerpt) (read by Patricia)
It takes courage to laugh in the face of fear.
How do you react when you are afraid? I am not proud to say that I tend to either shut down and go inward or I ruminate and think about all the possible outcomes making me feel more anxious, ready to fight whatever is coming at me. And all of that is okay.
But sometimes I face fearful situations with humour. Somehow, it helps me stand in the fear, and more clearly consider how to deal with whatever is happening.
Laughter reduces stress and can help us get back into the present if we have flown down the tunnel of future worries. It can make a difficult situation easier to talk about and it can disarm a person. But we should be careful about when and how we use laughter in facing our fears.
I have a bone tumour (probably a chondrosarcoma) which I find to be very frightening. I am very afraid of what could happen, even though I know that as long as it remains inside the bone, it will likely not spread. When I was first diagnosed, I was afraid to talk about it, even with my therapist. So I named my tumour. I called her Tina. Tina Tumour. It is a lot easier to discuss how Tina is doing. And it makes me laugh every time I say it. It also gives other people permission to ask about it in a way that makes them less uncomfortable.
We all deal with fear in a million different ways. Our fight, flight or freeze response is involuntary and is designed to protect us in the moment when something very frightening is happening to us. Let me reiterate that it is involuntary. So not laughing in the face of fear in the moment does not make you less-than-courageous. It makes you a survivor.
But it also takes courage, once we are able to assess the situation, to find ways of coping with fearful situations. One way is to laugh. So if I make a joke about Tina, or about my upcoming surgery, please don’t get angry with me. I am finding a way to deal with something very scary. And it takes courage for me to laugh instead of shutting down, and instead of minimizing it.
What frightens you today? Is there something you can do to lighten your body’s response? Give it a try. It is ok to laugh. It is ok to joke. If it helps you face your fear instead of hiding from it, go for it. And if you need someone to share your fear with, who can hold some space for you to build up your courage to face the fear, or even to laugh at it, please reach out to your community. We never have to face the scary times alone.
Hymn 204 (purple): ‘When I Am Frightened’
Thanks Patricia. Let’s sing again – our next hymn is number 204 in your purple books – ‘When I am Frightened’. We don’t sing this often so I’ll ask Andrew to play it through before we sing. Hymn 204.
When I am frightened, will you reassure me?
When I am uncertain, will you hold my hand?
Will you be strong for me? sing to me quietly?
Will you share some of your stories with me?
If you will show me compassion,
then I may learn to care as you do,
then I may learn to care.
When I am angry, will you embrace me?
When I am thoughtless, will you understand?
Will you believe in me, stand by me willingly?
Will you share some of your questions with me?
If you will show me acceptance,
then I may learn to give as you do,
then I may learn to give.
When I am troubled will you listen to me?
When I am lonely, will you be my friend?
Will you be there for me, comfort me tenderly?
Will you share some of your feelings with me?
If you will show me commitment,
then I may learn to love as you do,
then I may learn to love.
Reflection: ‘Trick or Treat? A Tricksters’ Treatise’ by Antony Bunsee
I love Halloween. And here, in Notting Hill, where Boris Karloff once lived in real life and Van Helsing in fiction, where better to raise the true spirit of the season and it's real and imaginal origins… “You best start believing in ghost stories Miss Turner, you’re in one”.
Growing up in Wiltshire in the 60s - and Welcome to my Nightmare - one of the most pagan counties with its stone circles, barrows and ley lines, remnants and customs of a rural pagan past were everywhere. And on October 31 st, in those pre internet days local news and kids TV spread the word: on this particular day, on this particular night was a time for magic: magic using apples, candles and mirrors for fortune telling divination and conjure, for one night only, amidst the dying embers of the summer, as the dark and dreary GMT approached.
But now it's the whole month. And Now the end of Summer is marked not by the falling of the leaves or temperatures, but by the appearance of Halloween decorations in TK Maxx. In August? When did one night become 30 days? When did Early Fall become Spooky Season? What's the deal? Who you gonna call?
Detractors have some bones to pick: they say it is crass, Commercial ,Frivolous and Irreverent. But I would say the opposite, that it's true appeal is that it is ….. Crass, Commercial ,Frivolous and irreverent. It is. It has to be…
So before the clocks go back, let's really turn them back, right to the origins of the Holiday, the birth of the Creature. Let's inspect the Spectre…
Samhain was a pre-Christian Celtic pagan feast, where livestock would be slaughtered, bonfires lit and preparations made for the coming Winter. The veil between this and the otherworld was thin, and the Spirits, vengeful and maleficent, ghost and ghouls and long leggity beasties were revenant. It was a festal time of light and dark, of harvest and remembrance. Betwixt and between. Riding the Ghost Train forward into the Dark, Dark ages.
Pope Boniface in AD600 in Rome, exorcised or re-Possessed the old feast to create the three days of Hallowtide- All Hallows Eve, All Souls and All Saints day – now celebrating departed Christian Martyrs. and those in Limbo – the Betwixt and Between. Worth noting the Romans had their own festivals of Death and Life in this 10th Month. And Pomona. So the Church, parts of which latterly oppose Halloween, ironically/actually institutionalized the holiday. Perhaps the first Halloween Trick - Pagan and Christian - Imperial and Folkic - Betwixt and between…
So from Rome, we ride the ghost train to Scotland and Ireland, to see how the customs of the Halloween country grew. Special cakes were baked for these Hungry Spirits that were thought to roam the earth at Samhain Hallowtide - soul cakes. Adults and children would dress up, sing a song or perform, or offer to pray for the dead in exchange for these cakes. This was SOULING. The dressing up was GUISING.
The idea of guising began to take on a more ritual effect... to ward off the scary spirits, dress up as even scarier ones. Exorcism by Impersonation. And with that, mischief making began, revellers getting up to good and no good, The night before Halloween, the 30th, became Mischief Night.
What All these customs offered was light in the darkness, life amidst decay, jokes amidst the encroaching dark. Offering comfort and succour. Hence the Halloween greeting “Har Har, Succour!”
Sweets, rewards, costumes and death…Old Religion and the New in a Dance Macabre we can see the deal being made the creature rising … It’s alive, it's alive… And now in the 18th and 19th centuries, we voyage to the New World. Scottish and Irish immigrants took these customs to North America. “You’re gonna need a bigger boat”
In the New World “Help for the Halloween Party” was the guisers pitch… but Trick or Treating is only first recorded in Ontario in 1910, and the phrase first mentioned in the USA in 1930.- so surprisingly it's less than a hundred years old. Trick or treating returned to the UK in 1982.Not as a pagan revival, but because of the Halloween scenes in ET Halloween Phones Home. And reverses the charges. Fiction is conjured into Reality.
Spooky Season is first recorded as a retailer’s description of commercial prospects of the festival. So yes, it's a deal, a steal, a cash appeal... Yes, Transaction is baked into the soul cake of Halloween. So the detractors are right: old customs piggy backed for the piggy bank.
But 6 feet under the monster mash-up of this Holy and unHoly day, there's a deeper, graver meaning… a Deal is a bargain, a trade. Guisers and Soulers, looked for sweetmeats in exchange for a good costume and soul cakes for a prayer for the departed, or just as a reward for not misbehaving. But a deal can also mean a reconciliation or acceptance. The Halloween Deal is a Carnival Reconciliation. It feels the encroaching dark, and banishes it with fireworks.
Danger, threat, destruction terror and mayhem are recapitulated as objects of frivolity and mirth It recognises the passing of summer, celebrates the harvest and the death of the fertile land and reconstructs the livid oranges and purples of decay into costumes customs and decorations that celebrate mortality and vitality simultaneously. It accepts death, and darkness, and replies with fire and laughter .It sees the haunting spirits, and scares them off with a joke. I ain't afraid of no ghost… Exorcism by impersonation… Betwixt and between..
Between Christian and Pagan ,Folk custom and Commercialism, betwixt two seasons of Light and Dark, it embodies and celebrates the liminal. It takes our Real fears, phobias and uncertainty and theatricalizes them into something comic… using imagery from Fiction, particularly Hollywood and Victorian Gothic. Lord Byron was the inspiration for The Vanpyr. A carnival of souls, where on its rollercoaster we can feel terror safely and the louder you scream, the faster we go. And, unlike the other r major festivals that celebrate Death Birth or Resurrection, laughter is baked into its feast, its soul cake, it is essential.
So, as they say in Transylvania: HOW DO WE MAKE THIS COUNT?
For me, Halloween was is and ever shall be a time of imagination It hinted at a metaphysical world within and beyond reality, a portal to another dimension which can be felt ,contacted and honoured. It is for me a Romantic time, not in the rom-com sense, but like Romanticism, it is fascinated with the past, ruins, decay, mists and mellow fruitfulness, but above all with Imagination. Christmas Parties v Halloween.
So in this season of mist and mellow fruitfulness perhaps we can take a moment to celebrate the past: the passing of seasons and those who have passed. Attune ourselves to the time with its Remembrance Days and Bonfire Nights. Perhaps light a candle for the wandering spirits, or those we know that are no longer with us.
Or get creative and dress up as Vampires, werewolves, lions and tigers and bears, oh my!
Halloween Hallowtide and Spooky season is truly betwixt and between, life and death, light and dark, cheap and profound, Frivolous and solemn. It's a Faustian bargain you can sign in fake blood and smile at through plastic teeth. It is Christmas for the weirdos. I would like to end with a Halloween poem. You may know the last line..
Darkness falls across the land, the midnight hour is close at hand
Creatures crawl in search of blood to terrorize your neighborhood
And whosoever shall be found without the soul for getting down
Must stand and face the hounds of hell and rot inside a corpse's shell
The foulest stench is in the air, the funk of forty thousand years
And grisly ghouls from every tomb are closing in to seal your doom
And though you fight to stay alive your body starts to shiver
For no mere mortal can resist …….
Hymn (on sheet): ‘To Be a Pilgrim’
Thanks Antony! Time for one last hymn now, and it’s on your hymn sheets – it speaks of hobgoblins and foul fiends so it seems very seasonally appropriate! – let’s sing ‘To Be a Pilgrim’.
Who would true valour see, let them come hither;
One here will constant be, come wind, come weather;
There’s no discouragement, shall make me once relent
My first avowed intent to be a pilgrim.
Whoso beset me round with dismal stories,
Do but themselves confound; my strength the more is.
No lion can me fright, I’ll with a giant fight,
But I shall have a right to be a pilgrim.
Hobgoblin nor foul fiend can daunt my spirit;
I know I at the end shall life inherit.
Then fancies flee away; I’ll not fear what they say;
I’ll labour night and day to be a pilgrim.
Announcements:
Thanks again to Antony for sharing your reflections on the season. Thanks to Ramona for hosting and Lochlann for co-hosting (if you’re online please do stay on afterwards for a chat). Thanks to Sophia and Andrew for lovely (spooky!) music, and Benjie for supporting our singing. Thanks to Patricia for reading. Thanks to Liz for greeting and Juliet for making coffee. Please stay for tea and cake! We’ve got Berry Lime Drizzle and Apple and Pear Cake today.
Margaret will be offering her singing class back here in the church at 12.30 – that’s free of charge – she can help anyone make a better sound so please do stay for that if you can.
The Better World Book Club is talking about ‘Worn’ by Sofi Thanhauser. If you’re expecting to come to that and haven’t had the link please let me know. Next month we’re talking about ‘Dear Life’ by Rachel Clarke and I have a few copies to lend out so let me know if you take one.
We’ve decided to call off this month’s walking group – not enough sign-ups – and bad weather. The next one is scheduled for Wednesday 25th November so if you want that one to go ahead please put it in the diary now and tell me that you’re intending to come so we can make plans.
On Friday at 7pm we’ve got our ‘Heart and Soul’ online contemplative spiritual gathering – this week our theme is ‘Music’ – email John if you want to join and he’ll send you the link.
Please sign up NOW for the new RE course we’re offering this autumn – it’s every Thursday night in November – on ‘The Language of Faith’. It’ll be exploring our relationship to religious language. That’s on Zoom. All are welcome – already over 20 sign-ups – but you need to sign up in advance and there will be a little bit of homework to do which I’m planning to send out this week.
Next Sunday we’ll hold our All Souls service – a chance to honour our loved ones who have died – and I invite you to bring along an item that connects you to someone you want to remember.
And importantly after the service next week we’re going to hold an in-person workshop on ‘Hospitality’ – I’d really appreciate it if you’d plan for stay for that – we’re going to consider how we might improve our welcome here, and how everyone can contribute to the effort, and what else we can do to remove obstacles to participation and grow our congregation. There will be an online version of this workshop in due course so keep an ear out for further announcements.
Details of all our various activities are printed on the order of service, and also in the Friday email, so sign up for our mailing list if you haven’t already done so. The congregation very much has a life beyond Sunday mornings; we encourage you to keep in touch, look out for each other, and do what you can to nurture supportive connections. Just time for our closing words and music now.
Benediction: based on words by Maggie Lovins
Our time together has come to an end.
We extinguish this flame but not its
meaning and mission in our hearts.
In the week to come, may we face
the world’s troubles with courage,
meeting the monstrous with mockery,
and laughing in the face of fear, as best we can.
Go in peace, be of service to one another,
and may you move through the world
in love for all of your days. Amen.
Closing Music: Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saëns (performed by Sophia Kannathasan and Andrew Robinson)
Rev. Dr. Jane Blackall and Antony Bunsee
25th October 2025