HALLOWEEN 2013

 

HALLOWEEN.  

THE DAY of “Ghosts and Ghoblins”. 

A Time of Pranks and Downright Acts of Meanness.

And where do my first remembrances of Halloween begin….. errrrr welllll in my church.

I remember that we all would gather together in the basement of our Brethren Church for a Halloween Party which consisted mainly of a contest for the best costume.

Now…. Here I am, a very young preschool boy…. Who had given himself to the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Master when I was a mere five years old.  I was someone who responded to the call of Jesus during a Revival Meeting.  I walked forward to commit myself to Jesus as the last chorus of “Just As I Am” was sang….. And not only did I feel that Jesus was calling me to him…. I could feel his hands upon the lapels of my shirt…. Pulling me forward…. To make a Physical and Spiritual Commitment.

Now I always had been spiritually sensitive.  Not only was I aware of Jesus and his angels.  I was also aware of the Dark Side.  For example, for years I had seen a skinny, black form sitting in a rocking chair in back of our upright piano.  This figure in black was cold and scary….. and this was not the only place and time that I saw his form….

So when I found myself at church…. Celebrating Halloween…..  in effect celebrating blood and guts and gore and DEATH….. I was very uncomfortable.  This did not seem right.  And this feeling has followed me all the days of my life.

This particularly played out when it came to raising my kids.  What do you do when everyone in the family seems to have no problem with going along with the whole Halloween thing.…. And your kids are excited by the Holiday both because of the dress up part and because of the peer pressure part from classmates.  I must say that I was particularly proud of my daughter one year as she dressed up as an Angel of the Lord….. and somewhere I have a photo of her on our "Trick or Treat Neighborhood Journey" as she was at a neighbor’s door and she was receiving candy from the devil.  Oh the Irony of it all…. An Angel Receiving Candy from the Devil!!

And then there was the time I accompanied my children Trick or Treating…. And I was wearing the Blessed Robe of an Actual Priest….. and many times on the sidewalk, people would actually back up and get out of the way wherever I would walk.  That experience in particular taught me that indeed there is something more to Halloween than generally meets the eye.  Many people still believe that Halloween is a Harmless Fun Holiday..... and this belief has catapulted Halloween into the Number Two most popular Holiday in our world today.... second only to that of Christmas.   

Or is Halloween actually about a real power play between good and evil in this world around us.

"Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does." 1 Peter 5:8-9 MSG

Copyright 2013 By Sam Smith and Heavy Light

INFO ABOUT SAM SMITH AND HEAVY LIGHT.

  

Anyone ever wonder why the Sam Smith and Heavy Light LOGO

Contains a Caricature of Sam Smith

Against a Backdrop of Projectors?

From the Very Beginning.....

It was all about Sam and Projectors.

Multi-Image Projections Against Multi-Screens

Backed Up By A "Wall of Sound" 

By the Early 80's

It Was All Run With A Lethal Combination

of Sam's Hands and a Specialized Computer.

By the Mid-90's

this Large Jesus-based Road Show

Was Retired....

In Favor of Seminary and Youth Pastoring.

Taking the Time To Remain Relevant to Youth

By Spending Time with Youth.

Now Sam is Back Full-Time...

Doing the Speaking Road Shows with Various Media....

And Working Toward Bringing Back the Multi-Projector Roadshow!!

Find Out More About Sam Smith and Heavy Light @ WWW.HeavyLight.Org

Ever Seen Sam Smith and Heavy Light in Action??

Sam Would Appreciate Your Constructive Critique....

Which Will Help Him Improve His Presentations.

Please take The Time Now To Do So

And Email To Sam@HeavyLight.Org.

SAM SMITH: Youth/Adult Speaker - Presenting Christo-Centric Messages of Hope and Peace Against the Backdrop of Today

The Militarization of Our Youth, I Will NOT Kill and REV Sam Smith

The Militarization of Our Youth,  I Will NOT Kill and REV Sam Smith

 “To become militarized is to adopt militaristic values and priorities as one’s own, to see military solutions as particularly effective, to see the world as a dangerous place BEST APPROACHED with militaristic values.”  (Militarization and Globalization by Cynthia Enloe)   In such a world, creative and peaceful means of conflict resolution will find it harder to compete with military approaches and solutions, and may be silenced altogether. Today…. we live in just such a world.

One primary objective of our government has become to infuse a military mindset into our educational system wherever it is able.  In doing so, our nation is led to believe that as one militarizes the educational system; our students will be enabled to a higher standard of socialization.  Undeniably great social skills such as “loyalty, resilience, courage and teamwork” are promised to be the results of the militarization of our youth.  ROTC and JR ROTC programs are presented as assets for our youth to utilize.  On the walls of our high school counseling departments are posters that push signing up for the military as a “one stop success center” especially for “kids at risk”.  And the No Child Left Behind Act and the ASFAB Tests allow military recruiters unprecedented access to our schools and our school mailing lists.

Thus enters the work of the Fellowship of Reconciliation and its I WILL NOT KILL Campaign as engaged by the FOR Chicago Chapter.  Within this campaign, students who are continually exposed to the glamorization and the sanitization of warfare in the world around them are taught the realities of military engagement.  Pacifistic in nature, the I Will NOT Kill Campaign is designed to question the militarization of our youth.  It is designed to help young people think critically in regards to the military with non-violent approaches presented as the preferable way to problem solving.  Conflict Resolution today has become more commonly equated with military force.  I Will NOT Kill says, “Let’s Give PEACE A Chance FIRST!!”

In Chicago, REV Sam Smith, FOR Chicago Chapter Chair and Chapter Members work closely with DePaul Universities’ Peace Studies Department and offers I Will NOT Kill Tabling as one of the Service Learner components to the PAX 200 classes.  Rev Sam Smith also speaks widely at schools, music festivals, coffeehouses, youth groups, churches etc on the subject of Active Nonviolence as expressed by FOR and I Will NOT Kill.  More information can be found on the FOR USA WEB SITE under the Local Chapter Tab (http://forusa.org/groups/local-chapters/chicago-for).

UPPER XTREME FUNDRAISING UPDATE

JUST A NOTE that We Have Just Recently Added a 

GO FUND ME Page in order to help with FUNDRAISING

for the UPPER XTREME YOUTH WINTER RETREAT.

  

Here is the Link:   http://www.gofundme.com/1q7dy8

PLEASE PASS THE WORD ALONG.  

WE ARE HALF WAY THERE!!!!

UPPER XTREME is an OUTREACH to AT RISK TEENS in the Western Suburbs of Chicago.  Most of the teens that frequent Upper Xtreme Activities feel like they have been rejected by the church in general.  Some even do not call themselves Christians.... and many are Agnostic in their Belief System.  Most are Questioning Society, God and People who call themselves Followers of Christ.  All find Acceptance and Love within the UPPER XTREME fold.

In addition to Sunday Night Bible Study Meetings, we engage in Upper Xtreme Xcursions to Concerts, Car Shows, etc.  One of our most meaningful activities is WINTER RETREAT.  Each year we travel to Cassopolis, MI and attend Camp Friedenswald meetings for WINTER RETREAT.  This is valuable for its TEAM BUILDING and SERVICE LEARNING and GOSPEL ACTIVITIES.

It costs $105 Registration for each teen.... and we would like to be able to bring at least TEN TEENS.  WE NEED YOUR FINANCIAL HELP because these teens cannot pay for themselves.....  and Upper Xtreme is on it's own financially.  No Adults that work with Upper Xtreme are paid.

To Learn More About UPPER XTREME: WWW.UpperXtreme.Com

                           Copyright 2012 By Sam Smith and Heavy Light

Sandy Hook and Our Children

In Light of Yesterday's Tragedy when a Shooter forced his way into the Sandy Hook Elementary School and Killed 20 Children, 6 Adults and Himself.  I would like to offer up a poem by Kahlil Gibran.                           

Sam Smith

On Children  By  Kahlil Gibran

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts, 
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, 
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, 
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, 
and He bends you with His might 
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies, 
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Upper Xtreme Appeal DEC 2012

WE NEED FUNDS TO SEND KIDS TO A JAN 4-6, 2013 WINTER RETREAT

UPPER XTREME FELLOWSHIP is a group of Young Teens and Twenties who together with a group of Adult Mentors are seeking to learn how to do Community better as they seek to Draw Closer to God.  Many in UXF have had Struggles with the Institutional Church which is part of what Draws us Together. We are also Drawn Together by Mutual Interests such as Music.  We are open and Non-Judgemental.... and Welcome those who still Struggle with the Idea of God. 

The UPPER XTREME began as the vision of a concert ministry at the Fourth Street United Methodist Church in Aurora, IL. It was the brain child of Rev Sam Smith and one of the youths in his Youth Group: Jake Fischer. It ran for about six years as a concert ministry from 2001 until 2007. It was later revived for a concert at the Gary United Methodist Church in FEB 2009. Now it is functioning as the Umbrella for a New Progressive Fellowship/Congregation/Church for those, mainly youth, who have been disenfranchised by the church in general. The purpose is to provide open, all embracing, love and fellowship for all. The expressions to be in the form of UX Chats, UX Excursions, UX Concerts,   UX FEEDS,UX Discussions, UX Book Studies etc.

Copyright 2012 By Sam Smith and Heavy Light

WWW.UpperXtreme.Com