Calvin Synod Herald, 1984 (84. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)
1984-12-01 / 6. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD — 9 — REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA New York City, Nov. 1.: Churches and public schools are mixing without violating the separation of church and state, according to a survey by the United Church of Christ’s Board for Homeland Ministries. The survey which drew responses from 2,300 of the denomination’s 6,427 churches, was conducted by the division of higher education of the United Church’s U.S. missions arm. It showed that: • At least 236 churches have participated on school district committees, and at least 153 have been involved with parent or citizen advocacy groups for highquality education. • At least 217 congregations are cooperating with public schools through courses on such topics as aging, hunger awareness, ethics and religion, and death and dying; through career and family counseling; through artists in the schools; through summer school programs, and in other ways. • At least 111 churches have held meetings or seminars on public education. Others have studied such issues as school finances, curricula, the school and the family, and recent national reports on the state of American education. Several churches have observed a “Public Education Sunday,” with recognition of teachers. • At least 98 churches have helped with tutoring programs, most commonly in English as a second language. “There’s a difference between the schools being used to promote religion and churches carrying forth their mission in public life,” says Boardman W. Kathan, the Homeland Board’s secretary for ministries in public education. He says United Church of Christ people “are involved in the public schools — as students and as educators — and we have a responsibility to minister to these people, wherever they are.” Commenting on the survey results, Mr. Kathan praises participating churches for “significant activities in cooperation with public schools,” but admits he had expected to see “more instances of partnership” than those reported. He says he hopes the findings “will encourage more United Church of Christ churches to get involved with public education, by giving them ideas for carrying out such ministries.” Especially exciting to Mr. Kathan is the concept of adopting a public school in a church’s community, providing it with such needs as volunteer help of contributions to purchase special equipment, such as a computer. The survey — which concentrated on educational ministries beyond the usual forms of Sunday school, youth groups and the like — also yielded the following results: • Weekday Programs: A third of the congregations responding have some kind of weekday program. The most common kind is a nursery school; 505 congregations sponsor or provide space for one. Churches also reported 195 day care centers, 93 kindergartens, 25 Headstart program and 10 Montessori schools. Such heavy involvement with preschoolers is typical of mainline denominations, Mr. Kathan says. The day care responses included programs for presons with handicaps, for mentally-retarded people and for the children of migrant workers. Afterschool classes, sponsored by 171 churches, and “released time” programs, supported by 80, were among other kinds of weekday offerings. • Private Schools: Only 17 churches reported involvement with private schools, and these varied from kindergarten-first grade classes to alternative high school programs. Only one “could be considered part of the Christian day school movement and one considers itself a parochial school,” Mr. Kathan says. He reports that the others provide special programs such as “very good alternatives to public schools for people with handicaps or students having trouble with ordinary schools’ structure.” • Public Education Network: The churches submitted more than 10,000 names of United Church of Christ people involved in public education, including teachers, administrators and other school staff members; school board members; legislators; members of state education departments, and officers of parent-teacher organizations. The survey was carried out by John W. Lowe, Jr., a doctoral student at Union Theological Seminary and Columbia University Teachers College, New York City. QUOTE “I cannot pray in the name of Jesus to have my own will; the name of Jesus is not a signature of no importance, but the decisive factor in prayer. The fact that the name of Jesus is invoked does not mean that prayer really is in the name of Jesus. But it means that I must pray in such a manner that I dare name Jesus in my prayer, that is to say, think of him, think his holy will together with what 1 am praying.” Soren Kierkegaard, Journals Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! UCC Domestic Mission St. Louis, Nov. 7. — A decision to conduct extensive interviews on domestic mission concerns with every local church in the 1.7 million member United Church of Christ was made here this weekend at the 48th annual meeting of the denomination’s Board for Homeland Ministries. The vote calls for the national church body’s 225 corporate members to visit all 6,427 of the United Chuch’s local congregations over the next six years. Their discussions, to be held with typical church members as well as pastors and leaders, will focus on what kinds of mission work each congregation is doing and what it would like the denomination to concentrate on in its U.S. mission programs. In a keynote speech, a commitment to tackle the gap between different church understandings of mission was announced by the Rev. Dr. C. Shelby Rooks, elected last year as executive vice president of the United Church Board for Homeland Ministries. Stressing the idea of “covenant” as the tie that binds the denomination together, Dr. Rooks pledged that the Homeland Board would work closely with other church bodies to achieve a common vision of mission. “We do that,” he explained, “because we believe God calls us to love each other, to serve each other, to assist each other and to insure justice is available for everyone.” The domestic mission board also voted at its board of directors meeting to allocate grants of $95,000 and loans of $2,239,800 for building projects of 19 churches in 12 states and Canada. “Lady Liberty” Committee Organized Union, N.J. — Representatives from Hungarian clubs, churches, and organizations in New Jersey met recently to form the United Hungarian-American Committee for the Restoration of the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island for the purpose of launching a coordinated fundraising drive, within the Hungarian community in America, to help defray some of the $230 million cost of restoring both of these symbols of what America stands for throughout the world. The meeting was sponsored by the Hungarian Eighth Tribe Foundation of Union, New Jersey, and Ligonier, Pennsylvania, in cooperation with the American-Hungarian Citizens Club of Rahway. The officers of the newly formed committee are Louis Ruszkay, Chairman; Rev. Stefan M. Torok, Vice-Chairman; Priscilla Hunyady, Secretary-Treasurer; and Paul Pulitzer, Director of Public Relations. CHURCH SURVEY
