FIREWORKS FOR MISSION!
Making All Saints Day work for you
For over twenty years All Saints Hackbridge, south London, has attracted hundreds of local residents to the church for All Saints Day. How did we do it and what are the outcomes?
It started in 1995 when I had a service of light on November 5th with fireworks afterwards, and over 50 people came, including a gang of young tearaways who behaved impeccably. But I thought that November 5th did not send a good message – its origin being strongly anti-Catholic.
I thought that celebrating All Saints Day was a much better option, specially as it is our church’s name day. So next year I bought £100’s worth of fireworks for All Saints day, November 1st and had fliers put in the school bags of our local primary schools, neither of them church schools. We were delighted when over 200 parents, children and teens turned up.
A couple of years later, I asked if the worship group of our local Apostolic Church, a black-led Pentecostal church, could play in All Saints afterwards. I thought that a few might hang about and listen to the band. I was astonished when over 70, none of whom had been in the church before as far as I knew, flocked into the church and stayed for half an hour to listen to the music.
All Saints fireworks is now a solid fixture in the community’s expectations, and if music can also be offered, a way of starting and deepening relationships with ordinary residents. The whole thing is very easy to put on. Here are some tips:
1. The PCC has to agree, a Risk Assessment made, and one’s insurance company informed. The spectators need to be standing 25 yards away, and a couple of stewards will be needed; it will be dark!
2. About £100 of fireworks need to be bought. They should be bought as individual firework, not as a pre-designed box as those seem to last about 5 minutes. All the fireworks should be able to be seen above head height. Bear in mind the noise of the fireworks and the well-being of local cats and dogs.
3. Fliers, pre-sorted in packs of 30, should be offered to local schools to be put into pupils’ school bags, well before the beginning of half-term which usually falls around this time.
4. It is a good idea to offer hot dogs and orange squash beforehand so that something is going on before the fireworks get started. It also helps towards the cost. Some form of lighting should be used if available.
5. In school assemblies the point can be made that Halloween means the evening of All Saints Day, so the church’s fireworks are the real celebration. So we always did it on 1st November, whatever day of the week it is. Just like Halloween!
6. Try to find some music for playing in the church afterwards. A local worship group, one’s own choir, a Salvation Army band. The last needs to be booked at least six months in advance, but would be great because they can play both before and after the fireworks.
Have fun and be safe!