With October 31 around the corner, the Cherry Hill community can expect knocks on their front doors and dings of their doorbells from the early afternoon into the evening.
Halloween is a holiday traditionally associated with children running around from house to house, with a pillowcase or basket in hand, to collect all the sweets and candy they can get. The neighborhoods bustle with activity as the sidewalks are filled with families and kids dressed in costumes. These trick-or-treaters have one goal in mind: to end their Halloween adventure with a big collection of candy.
Even though the concept of trick-or-treating is associated with kids going to houses, there are alternative ways for the young ones to get their Halloween sweets. Trunk-or-Treat events are one of those alternatives to the typical trick-or-treating experience. Trunk-or-Treats take place in one location and can be a great way to experience Halloween if families are in a time crunch. This Halloween season, several Trunk-or-Treats are being hosted in the area, one of which includes Kingsway Church’s Trunk-or-Treat event in Cherry Hill.
Kingsway has been hosting a Trunk-or-Treat since 2008, but this year the event will be returning after three years of it being canceled due to COVID-19. Kingsway’s youth pastor, Dave Czarnik, is leading the event this year.
“We are blessed as a church to be able to do this for our community. Seeing everyone come together and having an amazing time celebrating the Halloween season is truly special,” said Czarnik.
Kingsway’s website promotes their Trunk-or-Treat event as “visiting 50 houses in 15 minutes.” The event will be open on October 31 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m across the street from the church building at Jefferson Cherry Hill Hospital Parking Garage. Kingsway’s Cherry Hill Campus is hoping to have 40-50 decorated cars with candy set up in the parking lot to essentially mimic 40-50 houses all in one location.
“In today’s society, there’s a greater sense of security and protection in parent’s hearts. [There are] just things that we see in our world that are not kid friendly and kid safe,” explains Czarnik, “so for Trunk-or-Treat, we don’t do it [perfectly], but we do our best to ensure a safe environment with appropriate costumes and music where parents know what to expect.”
Along with the decorated trunks, music, and food, the church will also have prayer tents in the parking lot. These tents will serve as a safe place where the church pastors and leaders can pray for people who need prayer or are going through tough times in their life. It is a great opportunity for people to come and receive.
“We want people to know that we are for them and we care for them and love them, so we just feel like by doing events like this and while offering prayer and offering an opportunity for them to hear about Christ in a few moments,” said Czarnik.
To those who are interested in attending the event or hosting a trunk, more information can be found on their website: https://groups.kingsway.church/trunkortreat/