Susquehanna LINK - January/February 2011 VIDEO CAPTURES BY JERRY WOLGEMUTH


Approximately 130 children join in singing on December 15, 2010, at Halifax UMC during released time from the Halifax Elementary School.


Released time in Halifax


The idea of releasing public school students for devotional religious


study


off school premises in the U.S. was first discussed in 1905. Released time peaked in 1947 with 2 million students enrolled in 2,200 communities. During this time, favorable released time legislation was adopted by 12 states. It is estimated that there are over 1,000 released time pro- grams in operation today involving over 250,000 students in kindergarten through high school. For and hour and forty-five minutes at


Halifax UMC, twelve times during the school year, approximately 130 students are led to the church from their school only one block away. “We have a large-group setting in the sanctuary with a time of praise and worship songs, lots of fun, hand clapping, stomping, motion songs,” says Director Trish Carle in a recent interview with Brittany Spriggle, on the Susque- hanna Xpress webcast in the photo to the right. “We have a time with a speaker then we break into small groups, where there is almost an hour in a small-group setting.” “We stress in the small-group setting that I would like each small-group to be pray- ing for each other and for their needs and the needs of the children. I have volunteers that take that list of kids home and pray for them during the times when we are not having release time. Then they come back and they are just strengthened, the kids are strengthened by that, even without know- ing. Prayer is so important. And the kids have so many needs. It breaks your heart sometimes to hear the things that they want to pray about, but it is a good thing we are there for them to do that.” The program is a religious education program sponsored by The Halifax Minis- terium and has been offered in Halifax for over 35 years. It is available to all Fourth and Fifth graders from the Halifax El- ementary School.


In our case the kids are right there, says Director Carle. “We are only a block away from the elementary school, so the set- ting is perfect. We can bring them up in a very easy way, and allow them to have fun, jump up and down, wave their arms


around, sing. But they are still in a church setting, and they are getting familiar with the Word of God, words of their faith, and then, just understanding that people love them and care enough about them to want to pray for them.”


Fifty-two percent of the children who participate in this year’s program are un- churched.


The volunteer mentors that I have in ev- ery classroom really do care for the kids. And they do build relationships with them; hopefully, sometimes life-changing ones, because of their ability to be mentors to the kids and to just love the kids. Each session takes approximately 15


volunteers. They are assigned to with groups of kids, and they stay with them throughout the year in order to build re- lationships.


The Halifax program compares very


well with Released Time program across the U.S. They join 60 percent of the pro- grams that use original curriculum, 15 percent of the programs that have 11 to 15 teachers (73 per cent of the programs have less than 10 teachers.)


The Halifax Released Time program reached 75 per cent of the population of Fourth and Fifth graders in 2009-2010. “It would not happen without the support of the whole community; from the school board, the teachers, the principals, right down to the churches that sponsor us as a part of the ministerium,” says Carle. “It is a total blessing to everybody involved. Each time we meet, I get one tiny little sto- ry from somebody that just makes it even more of a blessing for me. I will hear about somebody praying for somebody or a child that has given their life over to the Lord. And that makes it all worthwhile.” The interview of Trish Carle by Host, Brittany Spriggle on the Susquehanna Xpress webcast can be viewed at susme- dia.org.


Director Trish Carle is willing to talk with any church that would like to know more about Released Time programs. You may call her at 717.362.9742 or e-mail her at carlefamily@comcast.net.


On a warm May evening in 2010 I had the privilege to speak on camera with Rev. Bruce Fisher for a video of his recollections of the forty years of the Central Pennsylva- nia Conference. To the question: What did NOT happen during those forty years that was a disappointment to you? he responded passionately, “One of the dreams that I have not seen flourish is released time, with churches working with public schools. I sense a secularization that is increasingly creeping in to our educational system as well as our common life as Americans, and I’m wondering how local churches could be more energized if they would join together with churches of other Christian histories and come up with curricula that would be suitable to counter-balance the secular movements that seem to be on the ascenden- cy in today’s society.” We think Rev. Fisher will be delighted with this story.


7


Rev. Bruce Fisher


Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World


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