The Fayette Citizen-Religion Page
Wednesday, August 11, 1999
Wednesday night church is forgotten in today's hectic scheduling

The Rev. Dr. John Hatcher

My friend and fellow minister, Dr. Justin Kollmeyer, made some serious suggestions in light of the new dress code promulgated by the school board (The Sunday Citizen, August 1, 1999). In his column, he supplicated the schools to make Wednesday nights off-limits for meetings, programs, or anything that called for student/faculty participation. He said Wednesday nights are a key time for religious education and inspiration for youth in our churches and students should be encouraged to participate in religious activities that night. That's the way it was when I grew up: principals and teachers never even thought about planning any sort of activity on Wednesday night. Not only did they know that many of their students went to church, but also most of them did (many sang in the choir and choir practice was always on Wednesday nights).

If schools can't teach religious values, principles, examples, and biography, then what's illegal about intentionally not programming on Wednesday nights with an implicit encouragement for students and faculty to go to their church, temple, mosque, or synagogue? Selah (which means think about it)!

Here's what I think has happened. The seven days of God's week have proved to be inadequate to get the job done. The news is out: there's not enough time in the week. No longer is money the prime value in America, but time is.

School is a busy business. No longer is it reading, riting, and rithmatic (I didn't do well in the latter two). School is a major sports industry. School is little Rotary, Kiwanis, Optimist Clubs. School is a major fund raising boiler room. School is the prime locus of the heavy hitting lobbyist. School is NAE, SAT, ACT, PSAT, and several NATS in south Georgia. With the growing proliferation of school's business, more time had to be found. And they found it on Wednesday nights. Why, it's unspoiled hours that could be used not only by schools, but community soccer clubs, baseball groups. Get the idea?

Of course, while all this was going on—the lusting after Wednesday nights, the church was asleep, put to sleep decades ago by preachers who excelled in sleep inducing methods. When a few of us woke, Wednesday nights were just like Monday, Tuesday, Thursday nights: eaten up, gone.

We of the church have no one to thank other than ourselves. It's a new day, however. Violence visits more and more of our schools and office buildings. Something has got to be done. Our kids need the self-esteem and love that God gives. They need to nail down some eternal values in their lives. They need to connect with some Godly adults. They need a spiritual refilling for their midweek.

So, even if the church was asleep, can't we all wake up to the desperate needs of our young people? Wednesday nights should be reserved for spiritual renewal!

The Rev. Dr. John Hatcher is pastor of River's Edge Community Church in Fayetteville.

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