A Little Grace on Halloween: Inside Dallin's Open Door Church

Written by Birdie Sorensen

DALLIN. Not every church in this county keeps its lights on for Halloween. Open Door Community Church does more than that. This year it's opening the parking lot, too, for a trunk-or-treat running from 4:00 to 5:15 p.m. on October 31st, timed to wrap up just as the town's regular trick-or-treat hours begin.

Reverend Ira Morgan doesn't see much of a conflict between the holiday and the pulpit. "Halloween's just neighbors, in costumes, choosing to be glad to see each other," he said, standing in the lot where volunteers were already sketching out where the cars would park. "That's about as close to church as anything else we do all year."

His wife, Martha, is running the candy table again this year. By her own count, this is the eighth trunk-or-treat she's organized, and she still insists on the good chocolate, not the off-brand stuff. "You want them to remember it was worth the walk," she said.

Morgan is quick to say the event isn't a substitute for the neighborhood rounds, just a head start on them: a lower-key hour for the youngest kids and anyone who'd rather not do the whole town on foot. "Come in a costume, come as yourself, come because your kid wants the candy and you want the parking lot," he said. "Nobody's checking membership at the gate. That was never how this church has worked, and it's not starting now."

The trunk-or-treat is open to the whole town, not just the congregation, and runs rain or shine.