October is such a fun month full of pumpkins, fright, corn mazes, harvest festivals, and haunted houses. A fact about October that isn’t as well known is that it is also a wonderful time of year to honor and acknowledge our past. Reformation Sunday falls on October 25th and is often missed in favor of fall festivals, trunk or treats, and Halloween. But it is an event, like Halloween, that honors our past and celebrates our future.
This post is sponsored by Family Christian who offers a number of resources on the life and history of the church.
This year First Presbyterian Church in El Paso is hosting their first ever Reformation Fair and would love for you to attend. Here are a few more details on what a Reformation Fair is and why it’s a fun family activity to add to your October plans.
What is the Reformation?
For a detailed online explanation on the history of the Reformation visit Khan Academy: An Introduction to the Protestant Reformation.
There are also a number of books you can pick up from Family Christian to further study the reformers and the impact they had on our faith.
#Reformers @FamilyChristian offers a number of resources on the life and history of the church. Click To Tweet
Of course if you you are looking for a short quirky version of our ancestors then you won’t want to miss our Little Reformers as they present cameos/solos from 7 different men and women from the reformation period, some who paid with their lives.
In addition to our show choir here is how we are celebrating on October 21st.
Food trucks and Home-brewed Rootbeer–
Bring your appetite and wallet. While we are honoring the past through music, costume, and booths we decided to reform the way the Reformers did food and enjoy the following Food Trucks: Sweet Addiction, Pint & Peanut Public House, El Jefe Mobile Taqueria, Rebel Grill, Cocteles Masatlan, and Moshi Box.
On October 14th we will be learning the art of root beer brewing as we prep bottles for next week’s fair. You are welcome to join us for our weekly grill out at 5:30 and then a special science project of root beer brewing. We will be serving the root beer on the 21st.
6 of El Paso's best #foodtrucks will be at the Reformation Fair October 21st. Learn more Click To TweetBooths and games –
There will be a bounce house and stained glass (paper project) for the preschool and elementary kids. Other booths will be pin the beard on the reformer, toss the coin in the coffer, and our favorite is pie the pastor. Pies will be sold to those who would like to smother our pastor in the love of whipped cream. All money raised from the pie sales will go to our Scholarship Singer fun. (We give scholarships every year to UTEP students who sing in our choir).
Music-
Our scholarship singers will be wandering the crowd as Minstrels. The Children’s Choir and Scholarship Singers will be performing at exactly 6pm in the Centre, highlighting 7 reformers.
These 3 women and 4 men played key parts in #reforming our faith Click To Tweet
A Reformation Fair is similar to a Fall Festival with an added flair of church history. It is an opportunity to learn about our past and how it shapes the changes in our future. If you would like to dress for the occasion I’ve collected a few tutorials for costumes on a Reformation Pinterest Board. (These can always be reused at the upcoming Renaissance Fair in Las Cruces in a few weeks)
First Presbyterian is a church that is reformed and always reforming. We would love for you to join us in directing our church family in having a positive impact in El Paso. But for October 21st we just want you to come see for yourself just how much fun pieing the pastor, learning about our past, and eating great food can be.
On October 28th we will be continuing our celebration on Reformation Sunday at First Presbyterian with Bagpipes, Socorro High School Choir, and Guest Preacher Rev. Roland Perdue III. Join us at 9 or 11am.
