BACCALAUREATE SERVICE

My granddaughter, Rylie Grace Kerstetter, is graduating from high school in a couple of weeks.  It’s raised a bit of nostalgia in me. 

WARNING!

Old guy thoughts about to be shared!

My graduation from the New Brighton, Pennsylvania High School, took place fifty-six years ago!  Wow! Unbelievable!

Graduating from high school in our culture is still a big deal!  It’s a milestone in moving toward adulthood – a rite of passage! 

In 1969, the culture was much more unified in respect of religion.  All graduates – at that time – looked forward to two opportunities to wear that cap and gown:  first: Baccalaureate, and second: Commencement. 

Both were open to the public.  Both services featured the graduates entering – usually in alphabetical order – in those wonderful caps and gowns!  It was a dual celebration of our accomplishments.

Baccalaureate was a formal service largely planned by the local ministerial association.  It often involved music by the choral and musical departments.  School officials attended, but did not play a role in this service. 

Various local pastors led the service with one designated to bring the message.  Not all students participated, but most did.  In New Brighton, the local Roman Catholic priest participated – which allowed for a whole community response! 

But I must tell you that this service quickly fell by the wayside in the cultural and social changes initiated by the ‘turbulent sixties’. 

My official role as a pastor began in 1976, when I was ordained.  During those early years, I helped plan Baccalaureate services and participated in them.  But, as the years passed, more and more students began skipping this recognition of their accomplishments by the local ministerial group. 

During my time of service in New Middletown, Ohio, [2003-2012] the Baccalaureate service was dying a rapid death.  I recall one of the latter years when only one graduate participated. 

I don’t know of anywhere that even has Baccalaureate services anymore. 

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I don’t mourn the loss of Baccalaureate services, however, I do mourn the loss of spiritual emphasis and unity.  Many have observed the lack of respect for religious institutions and the growing cultural irrelevance of the Bible and its teachings. 

Public ignorance of the content of the Bible has magnified by a power of ten over recent decades. 

From 1997 through 2003, I served on the staff of a fast-growing church in Akron, Ohio.  The Lead Pastor – Brenda Young – had catalyzed growth in this congregation, and invited me to join the team.  She was an amazing teacher/preacher whose messages were relevant and filled with help and hope!  She rarely was out of the pulpit, however, when she was, it became my role to give the message. 

The first time she turned it over to me she gave me a very pointed reminder:

“Hal,

At Cornerstone, you can’t make a reference to a Bible story and expect people to know it.

If you mention Jonah, then you’ve got to tell his story!

You can’t assume that people will know the stories that you know so well!”

This was a wake-up call to me regarding the enormous change that our culture had already experienced!

And guess what, folks?

That conversation took place twenty-seven years ago!  Of course you know that it certainly hasn’t gotten better.  If anything, biblical knowledge has significantly diminished! 

Our current culture is less respectful of clergy and ecclesiastical bodies than ever before.  They consider Christianity to be much ado about nothing!  Christianity now maintains its strength behind its walls with very little vital impact on the culture. 

But we can change this, right?

By being fully devoted followers of Jesus and letting our light shine brightly everywhere and all-the-time!  Are you in?

[If you have three minutes, pray along with John Rich by clicking this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvMQ_xStg9M ]

Boyhood Friends

We'd make our plans on the school bus while riding home at the end of the day.  Bob and I got off at the Honor Roll bus-stop between Brighton Heights and Crescent Heights.  We would agree to meet there after checking in with our moms and changing clothes - which usually took about fifteen minutes. John and Larry went a half-mile further to the Stuber road bus-stop.  We all convened at Larry's as soon as possible to take full advantage of whatever sunshine we had.

Larry's neighbor (a doctor) had an old, unused tennis court that became our football field.  It was usually Bob and me against John and Larry.  We had a variety of rules that we incorporated into our self-devised game of 'Razzle-Dazzle Drop Football'.

The game consisted primarily of passing;  however, if the pass was incomplete, the other team got the ball wherever it hit the ground.  It was a fast, back-and-forth game that kept things exciting.  We loved playing football and lamented when it was time to end the game and return to our homes. Bob and I would walk down Mercer Road talking all-the-way (occasionally getting distracted by climbing the huge sycamore trees along the way)!

Eventually, we'd switch over to basketball - often playing on the tiny court behind Bob's house on Crescent Heights.  Bob and I frequently continued playing well after dark with the help of a spotlight on the back of his house!

I grew up with these three guys.  There were occasionally others who joined us, but we four had a special friendship that bound us together.  Bob was best man in my wedding, and Larry was one of my groomsmen.

In the summer, we had sleep-outs.  Occasionally, we caroused the neighborhood in the dark, evading automatic lights and swiping a tomato from a neighbor's garden.  I remember one night when we walked out Mercer Road several miles - diving for cover if a car came either way.

Summers also gave us opportunity for bike-hikes.  Usually this meant going far out Stuber Road.  One time we followed an old dirt road and dropped down into Eastvale.  After we discovered this destination, it was just a matter of time before we continued down through Beaver Falls and crossed the 10th Street bridge to return to our homes!

I can remember twice when Bob and I rode our bikes to Darlington Lake.  I don't think our mothers knew we did this!  It was a great place to swim because it had a huge sliding board that dropped into the water!

The leisure season also gave us opportunities to explore the woods behind Brighton Heights.  We hiked up to the 'Indian Caves'.  We built forts and played army. We caught lizards and crabs in the creek.  We hiked down to the Beaver River and then walked the tracks back into town where we'd get a milkshake at Isaly's.

In the winter we would sled-ride on Valley Avenue and lob snowballs from Brighton Heights down on cars traveling up Mercer Road!

Those were fun and free days!

However, our lives changed a bit as we entered junior and senior high school. New friends were developed and our relationships gradually became a bit more distant.  We still occasionally had classes together.  Bob and Larry had engineering prospects;  I took every math class NB offered - just to be with them.  They pulled me through with barely passing grades!  Ha ha ha...   Larry ended up being the valedictorian of our class!  My claim to fame (and reason for being at the head of the procession) was due to singing a solo at our commencement:  "No Man Is An Island".

However, throughout most of those years we continued our friendship by sharing the New Brighton High School 'open-lunch-period' by hitting the Brighton Hot Dog Shop!  Those were the days when three hot dogs, a fry and a shake came to $.95 with $.05 tax;  so, for a buck we had an awesome lunch!  :-)

But life moves on...

I did have the opportunity of marrying Bob and his wife some years later.  I also stopped to visit Larry in his law office one time, but we didn't seem to have anything to talk about.  It's sad that these wonderful friends have not been a part of my adult life, when we shared so many fantastic times together as boys!

I don't know where they are today or what they're doing, but I hope their lives have gone well.  I hope they're happy and fulfilled! I valued their friendship and we shared dreams and fantasies together while having tons of fun!  If I could, I'd thank them for their friendship and the memories we made together!  I'd also pray God's blessings on their lives!