Forty-five years of ministry

It’s a good thing Martha Schilling and her husband Bob live only about two blocks from Custer Community Church where they have been long time members. That’s because for nearly half a century Martha has been working with children and youth there and over the past school year she has been there four nights a week to provide religious instruction to elementary school children.
The church recently threw a birthday party for Schilling to celebrate her 45 years of service working with the church’s after-school children’s program and for her work with the high school youth group for many years as well.
Schilling says she took the initiative to start the Wednesday night children’s program sometime in the mid-1970s after the school district discontinued its weekly release time program for elementary students.
Before that the schools allowed students out of school one hour early one day a week to go to their churches to receive religious instruction but eventually ended the practice.
“I disliked that,” said Schilling of the change. “I thought it was kind of nice that the schools allowed the children to go to their churches.”
So, the church decided to start a Sunday school-like program of its own after school on Wednesdays and Schilling has been involved with the program since then. She said the program involves a Bible lesson, singing, the memorization of Bible verses as well as playtime. In March they often flew kites as part of the outdoor recreation time.
Over the years Schilling says there has been an attempt to integrate the children into the Sunday morning church services, sometimes with entertaining results.
She recalls that when Bill Comfort was the church’s minister he would sometimes have the kids take a parable from the Bible and present their understanding of it to the congregation.
Schilling says sometimes their interpretation of the story “came out a little erratic.”
Another time she recalls Comfort was preaching on something the children had been studying on Wednesday and was startled when they “chimed in and said it with him.”
“The congregation was surprised and so was he,” said Schilling.
Schilling said it has been fun to watch how the children she has worked with over the years have turned out. She said one boy who started attending the program before he was five (and not really old enough) just joined the U.S. Marines.
She also said most of the children she taught as teenagers in the youth group are now parents themselves.
Even though she was honored for all those years of service to children and youth and is now in her 80s, Schilling is by no means stepping down or stepping back from her involvement. In fact, this past school year Schilling and others expanded the program to four nights a week to provide a kind of latchkey program for children who come home from school to an empty house because both parents are working.
She said the program is meant to serve dual purposes—to give biblical instruction to the children and to provide child care for families who might need it. The program begins immediately after school and runs until 5:30 and is provided at no charge.
This year Schilling says there were three boys who stayed with the program the entire school year. (One girl started the year but “got tired of so much church.”)
Schilling says if there is enough interest they may continue it this fall, but admits it’s “pretty involved” if only a small number of children are going to be served.
“If it doesn’t work out we’ll go back to one night a week,” said Schilling.