Graveyard Dispatch

An Article for the New York Mills Dispatch:

St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in New York Mills will be holding their sixth annual Graveyard Halloween Service in St. Peter’s cemetery at 7:00 p.m., Halloween night. All are welcome!

The half-hour service involves prayers, lessons, and biblical readings as attendees process through the graveyard along a cruciform path. Stations are marked with torches and everyone is given a candle, though the church recommends bringing personal flashlights for safety. (So far the number of people entering the graveyard on Halloween has roughly equaled the number coming out, and they’d like to keep it that way.)

The Graveyard Service has covered various topics over the years, including scary stories of the Bible, a tour of the afterlife, and even the Church’s traditional take on monsters. This year the service will guide us through the history of the three-day Hallowtide festival—Halloween, All Saints’ Day, and All Souls’—which may surprise you. With incense, music, and flickering flames, the graveyard becomes a feast for the senses as well as the soul.

Come join us (after trick-or-treating, of course) to share in a happy Halloween!