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The Church at Brook Hills held its second annual Trunk or Treat on Sunday, Oct. 30 from 5-7:30 p.m. (Reporter photos/Noah Wortham)

By NOAH WORTHAM | Staff Writer

NORTH SHELBY – Rain didn’t stop the Halloween festivities as children collected candy at the annual Church at Brook Hills Trunk or Treat.

The second annual Trunk or Treat was held on Sunday, Oct. 30 from 5-7:30 p.m.

“It’s just our way of saying welcome to everybody in our community,” Senior Pastor Matt Mason said. “We want them to know we’re here, and we want to be a blessing. We want to have fun. It’s just a blast to get to have them out here on campus.”

Several thousand people came to the event last year, and the church expected to see even more.

“We had 3,000 kids, and so we’re kind of gearing up for about 5,000 this year,” Associate Children’s Minister Phyliss Wright said. “We weren’t going to open the doors till five but our cars were ready and people were already lining up so we opened the doors and it looks like the line is already filled up.”

There were off-duty deputies present at the event to help guide traffic.

“It’s a safe environment,” Mason said. “You can bring your kids out here and know they’re going to be safe. I saw a little two-and-a-half-year-old about 40 feet away from his mom having the time of his life splashing in every puddle (he) can find.”

The event also offered an expedient alternative to the normal house-to-house trick-or-treating.

“With 75 cars, there’s no way parents could take their kids to 75 houses in less than an hour,” Wright said. “So, they’re going to knock it out tonight, and their kids are going to walk away with a boat-load of candy.”

Staff members had what they called a “vault” where they stored candy to restock the various stations at the trunk or treat.

“One of the things we’ve talk about at our church is kind of a motto of ours which is ‘BH loves Bham,’ Brook Hills loves Birmingham,” Mason said, “and this is just one expression of saying to our city, ‘Hey our arms are wide open. We got a ton of stuff to make your kids enjoy the evening together, have a safe time.’ And it’s just a little bit, hopefully, of a window into the life of our church.”