The Hallows Eve Diversion

So far, results from the 2nd annual Hallows Eve Diversion were amazing!  We had 250 volunteers helping with collecting food, organizing, boxing and delivering to the local Co-ops.

I know the question that is on many of your minds…but unfortunately we do not have an accurate count yet for the number of items collected.  We hope to have a solid number sometime late on Sunday afternoon, but as of right now we are still collecting bags from local homes that were overlooked, and have a lot of elementary students bringing items to the basecamp tomorrow.  So far, very excited about the results.

Look for more information and pictures to come soon!

We are only 4 days away from the 2nd annual Hallows Eve Diversion!  There has been some major momentum this weekend as we have been handing out thousands of bags to get ready for the 31st.  Even as I write, volunteers are out (in the brutal cold!) handing out bags door-to-door, preparing homes for our visit.  If you haven’t received a bag yet, it still might be coming!  Of course, you could always just bring your items here on the 31st.

We also have our 2nd college campus event tomorrow (Tuesday) to invite students to participate in the project.  We are really excited about these college events, as we get to partner with our good friends over at Whitestone Motion Pictures.  Those of us working on planning the diversion have been consistently going back to Whitestone’s latest film, “Awake O’ Sleeper” for inspiration.  (To check out the film online, go to www.WhitestoneMotionPictures.com)  For me, this film helps to remind me that when we work together, we can overcome the injustice and poverty issues of our day.

Excited for our chance to make a difference, this Hallows Eve.

Here we are, just over a week away from the Hallows Eve Diversion, and excitement is only growing!  Over the past 3 nights, 72 volunteers gave of their time and energy to help pull together all the pieces that are needed to make the Hallows Eve Diversion an experience that will benefit thousands!  Special thanks going out to all of you who have been serving!  There is still much to be done, but we would not be this far (or this ahead of schedule!) if it were not for your hard work! 

Today we get to start the next phase of the project!  This afternoon, Hallows Eve Diversion volunteers will begin to distribute grocery bags and letters to local homes to let them know how they can be a part of the Diversion, by donating food on the 31st.  Some 7500 homes are being targeted, so check your doorstep this weekend, we might be visiting you!  (If it turns out that your neighborhood is not part of our target group, but you would still like to collect from your subdivision, please come on the 31st!  We can supply you with bags so you can collect from your own neighborhood.)

We are also really excited to announce that a group of students will be running this same project in Athens on Friday the 31st.  So, if you live close to Athens and are wanting to participate, here is your chance!  Please click hereto visit the Hallows Eve - Athens event on Facebook.

Tonight started 6 days of massive volunteer efforts to get us ready for the massive volunteer effort on Hallows Eve.  Funny how it takes a lot of people to serve and prepare, to get ready for a whole lot more people to serve.  Already, we are seeing many people catch the vision and see how their part, their effort, energy and relationships can help to make this Hallows Eve Diversion an event with HUGE impact on our impoverished community.

Special thanks go out to all who have already served, and those who will volunteer their time later this week.  You time is well spent, and is helping to make our community a better place.

Don’t forget that your participation on Friday, October 31st is essential.  The more of us who join together and serve, the more homes we can visit, which means the more food we can collect, which means more families have food they need, which means our community becomes a better place by our joint effort.  We can make a difference - Together.

Last night, we began to distribute our Hallows Eve Diversion 2008 advertisement cans and t-shirts.  The can’s are limited, but with any luck you might see one passing your way in the coming weeks.  Each can has information about how you can be involved in this years Diversion.

"This is not Jenga, pull from the top"

Also released last night was the Hallows Eve Diversion 2008 T-shirt!  Due to the scope of the project this year, we were unable to provide t-shirts to all of our volunteers.  However, we do have t-shirts for sale for $15 each, and that money will go to help support the Hallows Eve Diversion this year and in years to come.

Two weeks til the big event!

On Sunday, October 5th, the Hallows Eve Diversion will begin to be advertised at 12Stone Church.  We are really excited about the opportunity this year to invite elementary aged students and their families to participate in this project, as well as all the older students who will be involved.

Go ahead and mark Friday, October 31st on your calendar for the 2nd annual Hallows Eve Diversion!  We look forward to seeing you there!

Main collection site:

1322 Buford Drive - Lawrenceville, GA 30043

We are most aware of life and mortality at the cliffs overlooking the valley of death.  It is in light of death that we are able to appreciate life and understand the fullness of it.  In one of his letters to an early church, Paul stated that, “Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.”  In experiencing a closeness to death, we are freed up to experience fullness in life.  As we toe the thin line between life and death, we can look into the valley of death, and still understand and embrace the power of life.  Perhaps we arrive at our greatest appreciation of life when we see our lives in the contrast with death.

With that in mind, a few interesting pieces of information to fuel conversation and thought.  Every year, in the middle of the fall season in North America is a little known holiday.  Depending on your belief system or culture, you may know of November 1st by a few different names.  All Saint’s Day is a holiday recognized in Christianity.  Eastern Christianity puts this holiday on the first Sunday after Pentecost, but Western Christianity puts this holiday on November 1st.  Commonly referred to as All Hallows, this holy day is meant to be a time to celebrate the saints of the faith who have died.  In North America, November first has also been celebrated as the Day of the Dead - a holy day with the purpose of focused prayer for those family and friends who have passed from life to death.  Whichever name you chose to use for November 1st, the point is that November 1st has been established as a day built around the reality of Death.

Now the day before a holiday is treated just as special in many cultures, making October 31st just as important as November 1st.  The ancient Gaels had this strange belief that on October 31st, the boundary line between life and death was basically dissolved.  While many cultures choose not to indulge on this belief, Hallows Eve (or Halloween) brings traditions of its own.  Lodged right up against the Day of the Dead (a celebration of Death) is Hallows Eve, where family and friends join together for a celebration of Life.

October 31st - Hallows Eve - A Celebration of Life

November 1st - All Hallows Day - A Celebration of Death

Now that is enough information and tradition.  I want to know what has been, but I don’t believe we are bound to it.  We can pave a new way.  We can inaugurate a new tradition.  The night of Hallows Eve is a night where the celebration of Life and Death meet.  Life and Death butt heads in a lot of places.  They come together in more places than you would think.  You see Life or Death is not just a question of breathing.  It is not just a question of heartbeat.  Life and Death are concepts.  More than concepts, they are social realities.  I can walk down a city street and look into the eyes of another, and meet life or death in their eyes.  I have observed people on their death-bed, full of life.  I have also seen strong, healthy individuals that were socially, emotionally or spiritually dead.  The truth is, we have a God-given ability to bring “life” into this world, and an ability to initiate or allow “death.”  What we do with this, that makes all the difference.  In any situation, are you bringing life to the table, or holding the door for death.

This Hallows Eve, I think you should bring life to the table.  Let’s treat this night, October 31st, where the celebration of Life and Death kiss, as a chance for us to fight for life in areas where death is taking ground.  Let us divert from the traditions of old, and from neutral living.  May the wake that comes from our passion for life (and our willingness to fight for it) only grow and spur others on towards life.  All around us there are areas where death reigns…and this should not be. 

Join with me this October 31st, as a new holiday is inaugurated.  Join with me for this years Hallows Eve Diversion.

What if your holiday was someone else’s hope? Is there a chance that a holiday celebration of fun and treats could become a movement of compassion? Halloween is one of the most celebrated holidays in America, and soon it will become one of the greatest expressions of support for those who are in need in our community. This Halloween, let traditions of old be replaced and renewed as you give way to a new tradition: The Hallows Eve Diversion.

Hallows Eve Diversion Audio Clip