Reformation Party Time!

Every year our church, Clifton Baptist, hosts a Reformation Party near October 31st (the day Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the door in Wittenburg). I get to help organize the event, and now that I've been around a whole year, I've got an idea of how it goes, and I can really help my friend Annie administrate the event (she is the main brains behind the operation).

This year our Reformer we're focusing on is John Knox, and along with him, the tradition of the Scottish Covenantors. Even though I remember studying about Knox in college, I didn't know much about the persecution the Covenantors underwent over the course of a couple hundred years. It has been fascinating! I read an excellent little book based on the true story of teenage martyr Margaret Wilson, who died near the end of the "killing years" for her faith. The amazing thing about Margaret, and her younger brother and sister, who were also Covenantors with prices on their heads, was that their parents were loyal to the Parish church, and signed the oath saying the king was head of the church. I was awed by the faith of these KIDS who stood for what they believed, and in Margaret's case, to the DEATH. I highly recommend Danger on the Hill by Catherine Mackenzie, Christian Focus Publishers. It tells Margaret's story in a fictional way, adding in characters or details where history is not certain, but of her death it is quite precise.

Here are past posts I did last year about our Reformation Party, and I'll keep updating this year as things emerge and become more set in stone. Today we're going to start on setting up some of the decorations, including painting a mural of the Scottish Highlands! Hope to be back with some photo updates! Also, I'd be interested in some costume suggestions. I'm probably going to go peasant (with a plaid shawl or something) again unless I can come up with something better.