Yeah, that’s not a “movie night”; it sounds like an attempt to get people to join the church.
If they were showing a proper family movie (y’know, one most people have actually heard of) then sure, it’d be harmless, but an invitation to a “free movie night” at a church where they’re showing Christian movies isn’t really the sort of thing most people are likely to be pleased to receive.
They’re part of the canon of Western civilisation and appear as cultural markers and elements in innumerable contexts, for starters.
You obviously expect someone to.
You seem to think the burden is on complete strangers, in their own homes, to know and care what treats might cause you to have to say no to your kids, and withhold them in the first place. Keep in mind that this could be any type of candy or treat at all. This is pretty unfair, since on top of everything else, your kids are in disguise.
Children soliciting treats from strangers involves a lot of parental responsibility, from due diligence regarding safety (of the whole enterprise, but of the treats in particular), to portion control, to instilling the etiquette that one is grateful for any well-intentioned contribution others may give, even if it’s something you or your parent doesn’t want.
Your post is nonsensical and not even remotely related to anything I’ve written.
Australians have not traditionally celebrated Halloween in any significant numbers or manner, but following intense marketing by retailers, it is beginning to make some inroads. I dislike that this particular celebration has been nurtured and encouraged by commercial entities rather than springing from community demand; however, I made the decision to allow my children to participate rather than exclude them from an activity enjoyed by several children in their peer group. My dislike of Halloween is not something I’m forcing them to share.
Strangers are not invited to participate in the religious education of my minor children, no matter what pretence they use to gain access to them. Strangers are not invited to invite my minor children to attend events they’re hosting without at least running it by me. And if a stranger commits any of these transgressions, then by all means I’ll feel grumpy about it and I won’t even apologise for that. That’s just how I roll.
Save the strawman for Guy Fawkes.
As long as the movie they are showing isn’t Teeth.
I saw that movie and assumed from the opening scenes that it was going to be some deliciously camp send-up of prissy Christian groups and then OMIFUCKINGSHIT…
My son was a virginal 14 or so at the time. After I watched that movie, I went to him and said “Serious discussion here. Do not watch that movie until you’ve had a lot of sex and are comfortable with yourself, and girls, and the entire notion of sex and your sexuality, okay? Just don’t. If you see this movie while you are a virgin, it will ruin your life. I am not joking.” And I wasn’t.
This. I’d be really annoyed, as I’m sure you would if I came along to your door at Christmas and started telling your kids both Santa and God are man-made fiction. I’d hope my child wouldn’t be affected as I’d toss the card before they saw it, but the arrogance of the gesture would bug me.
I don’t get people saying trying to recruit young children into any sort of religious cult is harmless. Is it only some churches that get a pass on bribing kids through their doors? What if it’s the scientologists or some radical, fundamentalist islamists, a doomsday cult, polygamists or practitioners of free-love. Would you opinion change then?
The OP asked would this change people’s opinion of them. Yes, it would change mine. I would tell my child to stay away from anyone who tries to bribe them into attending a church in the hopes of recruiting them. It’s really not appropriate in my view.
Don’t be disingenuous! It’s not a gift. It comes with strings attached (i.e. giving church members access to ‘fresh meat’).
You think purplehearingaid’s daughter was “fresh meat” for her ex-stepson because he gave her a Bible? Or that her ownership of a Bible gives all Christians “access” to her?
Yes, why not? ‘Fresh meat’ in the sense of a fresh and impressionable young mind they wish to manipulate. I don’t like the phrase ‘fresh meat’. I used it to try to convey the sense of violation I believe takes place when adults (who should have more manners, frankly) try to foist their religious beliefs on to someone else’s child.
It wasn’t even clear that the giver of the Bible in that story was any older than the recipient.
Are most people now so impressionable that mere talismanic possession of a Bible induces them to go Christian? I suppose reading Harry Potter would make them wizards, too.
Would it have been better if they had children give Bibles and religious tracts to other children? When I was a kid I attended the Nazarene Church, and they had a program where they gave gift certificates to kids if they got a certain number of people to attend church. They would award these kids in front of everybody at the start of the service, announcing exactly how many “sheep” had been brought in.
Meh. This isn’t the worst non-candy handout I’ve ever seen. Over the course of his trick-or-treat career, the sprog got his fair share of tracts from religious folk and from a few of the neighborhood churches. (The churches handed out candy or a baked treat along with the tracts.) The cop shop gave out glow sticks and safety booklets, and small business owners handed out business cards or coupons good for a “free” this-or-that for Mom or Dad. None of these ruined the sprog’s Halloween; he did give this stuff the once-over to see if it was of interest, then it was tossed aside.
I do have to give the church a lot of credit for one thing, and that is that the event to which the kids are being invited is specifically religious in nature, and that the kids will be preached to. It’s not a bait-and-switch that pretends to be a family-friendly freebie but turns out to be religious. This makes it easy to say no.
OP, if your mom’s willing to write her own name and address on the card to let parents know where it came from, I say go for it.
Not exactly the same thing, but Jack Chick just died and made me think of this thread…he did want his tracts handed out with Halloween candy, right?
It may have been a thing he suggested as a compromise or the like, but he really wanted them handed out w/ judging and recrimination so the recipient would feel shamed and be vulnerable to the messages.
Indeed. I wonder if folks have never received an ad or whatnot while trick-or-treating. I mean usually the folks would just toss it in your bag with the candy and later on at home you’d sift it and toss it.
Anyways, I don’t see anything wrong about the OP mom’s intentions. She is giving them candy as well. I think that’s far better than those folks who give healthy snacks or change out.
Update:
Mom now wants to go out trick or treating herself this Halloween. She’s 49. Not only does that leave me at home to pass out the cards, but I’m now questioning her choice (a little) of going out when she’s not going out for anyone…she just wants candy.
An exchange this afternoon went kind of like this:
Me: So why are you going out trick or treating again?"
Her: I like candy! Why shouldn’t I?
Well, people might think of you strange a bit. It’s usually for kids.
But I want free candy. I like candy.
Then wait until the next day and buy it when it’s on sale at super low prices.
I think trick or treating should be for anyone who likes candy. So I’m going.
Le sigh. I guess it’s another thing I shouldn’t really care about,but what would YOU do if a 49 year old woman came to the door on that night and didn’t have any kids or stroller and didn’t start out by saying “I’m doing this for a kid”? I just worry about her , a bit…in the end, though, I will probably just shrug my shoulders, tell her to have fun, and hope she shares with me when she gets back home. : p
In a small way, I’m actually jealous if she does it. I’d want to go too, but I’m too shy and disliking of social situations to do it.
I’m quite sure your kids can sense your contempt for the silly holiday.
They will be faced with all sorts of propaganda as they get older. (In fact, unless you’re homeschooling them, they probably already hear opinions that *don’t *come from you.) When you check out their goodie bags, you could use a similar invitation as a teaching opportunity. “This is religion! We don’t approve.” Or is it “This is the wrong religion. We don’t approve!”? Teach them critical thinking.
Speaking of silly holidays, Guy Fawkes Day never caught on here. Colonial Boston celebrated it as Pope Night–a way to demonstrate that colony’s hatred of All Things Popish. When General Washington took command there, he discouraged the celebration; the revolutionaries vainly hoped Catholic Quebec would join the fight. He also found religious intolerance irritating.
You should absolutely go around making sure that all your neighbors have church cards ready to pass out to your mother when she comes by.
If she’s not going to be supervising the process, that gives you an out: just hand out the candy without the cards and smuggle them into the trash. 
As for your mom TOT-ing for herself? If I were handing out candy and a woman that age showed up wanting free stuff for herself, I’d wonder if she were touched in the head or a little slow mentally. Anyway, I think of TOT as something for the kids. I’m not even on board with the 13+ set doing it. She’s a grown woman with her own money, let her buy her own candy.