Your Reformation Day Blowout!

Did you know that October 31 is not only a great time to be a Catholic or Pagan, but also a very special day for Protestants? That’s right! October 31 marks Reformation Day, which Brother Jeffrey Gros recently told me has fallen into disuse:

“Since the 1980s, traditional Reformation Day services have evolved into commemorations and moments of reconciliation between Protestant and Catholic, except in the evangelical communities, and Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, who distance themselves from fellow Christians in the ecumenical movement. Since the 1999 Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification—between Lutherans, Catholics and Methodists—work has intensified on healing the 16th century alienations.”

Cleaving together and minimizing differences is nice and all, but I wonder if by downplaying Reformation Day, we’re all missing out. Maybe Reformation Day might be an opportunity for unhad fun. Catholics, especially, might enjoy a Reformation Day blowout. Imagine the possibilities!

You could:

•  Temporarily whitewash an unoccupied stone church—au style de Christo à la Jésus,
•  Have a wine-into-juice station,
•  Smash molded-sugar plaster saints,
• Encourage everyone to bring various theses they might have boxed up in the basement—college, master’s, doctoral—and nail them to a selection of old, warped doors.
• Rip off  “cassocks,” emerging in layman’s polyester suits.
• Suggested soundtrack: Anything from the Jesus Music era, Bach, or Mendelssohn. Or no music if you want to go that far. You might!

Additionally, with the general theme of Reformation, you might ask everyone to consider what might need reformin’ in their own lives, write it down, and whisper it to a special advisor. Maybe in a wooden box built for two, behind lacy metal screens? Wait. Sorry. I mean, speak to Jesus and Jesus only because only He can save us?

Cap it all off with an End Times lottery, and allow those who are saved to beat the unwashed with styrofoam mallets.

Don’t forget to send photos of your Reformation Day parties!