Fruitport Pupils allowed to leave school for church program Law allows students to take part in Release Time Bible Study

By Lynn Moore The Muskegon Chronicle FRUITPORT, Mich. (AP) -- The children sitting in the front pews listened intently as the charismatic man with an Irish lilt told them they were slaves -- "slaves to sin." Having just told the 14 children the story of Moses' deliverance of the Israelites from slavery, Joe Murray took them on a journey to the future -- to the day of reckoning. Standing at the gates of Heaven, he, Joe Murray, will have the pages-long list of his sins torn up, he told the children. He, having accepted the word of God -- including the story of Moses -- and Jesus as his savior, will get his name in the Lamb's Book of Life. But they, sinners that they are, will not get their names in the book -- will not get into Heaven -- when the list of "all the things they've done" is read, the children were told. Not unless they confess their sins and accept the message Murray was giving them, he said. "If you don't believe this message, you must take your punishment for your sins," he said, his eyes blazing. "Your punishment is separation from God forever and ever and ever." Well then. It was time for treats for all the children who behaved so well. Then it would be time for them to climb back into the church van for the short ride back to Fruitport's Edgewood Elementary School. The first- through fifth-graders who were at Fruitport Christian Reformed Church weren't there on a Sunday. They weren't there for an after-school program. They were there during their normal school day, participating in Release Time Bible Study -- perfectly legal religious instruction provided during the course of a child's day in a public school. "I was in religion for 25 years and never heard of Release Time Bible Class," said the Rev. Bob Pohler, pastor of Fruitport Christian Reformed Church. Seven years ago, Pohler began working at a church in Fremont and learned that busloads of children were being released from public school to attend Bible study at sites away from their public schools. "I thought this flat out couldn't be done," Pohler said. But Murray, who's been teaching the classes in Newaygo County for 18 years, told him state law allowed such instruction for up to eight hours a month as long as parents gave their permission. In fact, Murray teaches the Bible during the public school day to children from 15 schools in Grant, Newaygo, Hesperia, Fremont, White Cloud and Kent City. "There's more to education than just the mind," Murray said. "There's the moral aspect of our soul that's eternal." Give Joe Murray a minute and he'll gladly take an hour of your time spreading the gospel. Pohler calls him a "freelance evangelist." Whatever he is, Murray has a colorful story -- growing up as an orphan in Ireland, losing his way to drugs and addiction, finding salvation through Christianity and spending years as a missionary. And then there's the part of his story when he returns to his home church in Allegan Township in 1993 and hears a presentation from two elderly women from Rice Lake Baptist Church in Grant. They were talking about the Release Time Bible Class they had started 40-some years earlier and how they were ready to hand it off to someone else. They nominated Murray and he ran with it. "A man is more than an educated man," Murray likes to say. "He needs a moral compass." An animated man with a knack for language, Murray engages children with his stories and his songs -- "Our God is an Awesome God" he sang loudly with the children in Fruitport. But he doesn't tolerate goofing off -- this is not recess or playtime or an excuse to get out of schoolwork. Mess around and the kid sitting next to you will get your treat at the end of class. Pohler was so taken with Release Time Bible Study that he invited Murray to Fruitport when Pohler transferred to the church there. Together they approached Fruitport Community Schools Superintendent Bob Szymoniak and Edgewood Principal Amy Upham about starting classes there two years ago. "They were hesitant," Pohler said. "Do I blame them? No. For there are people out there who say, 'Oooh religion in the schools.' They don't want to have to put out fires." Notices of the class with permission slips were set out at the school and not a lot of children showed up. Recently, the information was sent home with students and notices were put in the school's newsletter. As a result, anywhere from seven to 14 children would wait for the van to pick them up for the classes that ran for an hour and 15 minutes one afternoon a month. The last class for the year was in April. Szymoniak didn't have much to say about the Bible classes. "As a school official, we would never do anything to encourage or discourage the promotion of faith," Szymoniak said. "I'm always concerned when students are not in class. However, we respect their right to participate in this program, as governed by law." Published: Tue, May 22, 2012