I have been in my current church in Reading, PA, through 6 or 7 mayors; a dream for an ex-UMC guy, to be honest. Every mayor dealt with issues differently, which is to be expected, and one of the most interesting areas of difference is how they related to the religious community. The first mayor I dealt with came to check out a program I started (with the help of my good friend Wayne Cockrell, then employed by the Reading Council of Churches) that provided breakfast and Christian education for middle school students once a week before school started. We were very careful about keeping the wall of separation untouched, but this mayor wanted to jump in and take over. I said thanks, but no thanks; that would not be appropriate. He walked off in a huff.
One mayor (who, it turned out, didn’t really practice what he preached), met with clergy once a month to talk about issues that concerned all of us. It was a good mix of many different faith traditions, and at first, it was very fruitful. We discussed how we might help, and he listened to our concerns. It seemed that his hopes and dreams were the same as ours, and I felt like we might make some headway. (You can sense the “however” coming, can’t you?). This was around the time the school district purchased an old hospital in town and split the high school by grades, easing some of the crowding and tension. And there was a lot of tension. One of the problems was that these middle school students would come out of school and gang/drug-related miscreants would show up, emerging out of the nearby park. There were a lot of concerns about this, so the mayor asked if we clergy (and concerned lay people) might consider hanging when school let out as a deterrent, which seemed like a great idea at the time. It turned out that my definition of hanging out was far different than some of my colleagues.
I showed up the first day to find a dozen clergy praying loudly, calling to the evil spirits and demons to come out and leave the school. This prayer of exorcism lasted quite a while; a few of us chose to hang back and watch what might unfold. After the shouting and praying in tongues, one of the pastors got up and started to preach (this went on for a while too). The next week it happened again. I didn’t attend any more after that. Whether or not any demons or evil spirits were removed, I can’t tell you; this wasn’t my cup of tea, so I decided to try some other tactics – like adopting a local elementary school by providing school supplies and snacks. That was more my speed. And I know that some of my exorcising colleagues were disappointed with me; that was, honestly, something I expected.
Connecting with local schools is a great way to be of help in the community, especially urban schools like the ones near me, but there is a balance to all of this. I pray for our students and teachers and administrators every day, especially since the pandemic began. Their jobs, along with medical personnel, have been, I think, the hardest ones to navigate in these circumstances. I don’t think that shouting at the devil makes anything better; in fact, I can imagine that it either frightened or entertained the students leaving school on those days. We in the church are supposed to be voices of reason and maturity and comfort, not panic and fear. But live and let live; if that’s your thing, go ahead and do it. Just don’t make me feel less spiritual because I want to take a different route. And don’t try to take over our public schools; that isn’t our place. They have enough to deal with.
Prayer – Thank You, God, for hearing the prayers of our students, teachers, and administrators. And for being present in our schools in so many ways. Amen.
Today’s art is called “Possession” by Gene Kinnamon.