The saluting of the flags and the Bible has been a traditional part of Vacation Bible School for many years. Here is a bit of background on the pledges, and some reminders about correct use of the flags.
Where’d They Come From? –
The Pledges to the Flags and Bible
Sue Harmon
The saluting of the flags and the Bible has been a traditional part of Vacation Bible School for many years. Here is a bit of background on the pledges, and some reminders about correct use of the flags:
The pledge to the flag of the United States
The original version of this pledge was first printed in 1892 in a publication called Youth’s Companion. It was written by James B. Uphand, an employee of the publishing company. The words “under God” were later added to the original version. The pledge as we now use it became a part of the official flag code in 1954.
The pledge to the U.S. flag was included in VBS from its beginnings in 1898. “We salute the flag of the United States of America from both religious and patriotic motives. This flag stands for religious freedom; and we honor our country, the constitution, and the flag by using the salute as a religious expression.”1
The pledge to the Christian flag
Some time after 1922, the salute to the Christian flag began to be used in Vacation Bible schools. This pledge was written by Methodist minister and seminary professor Lynn Harold Hough in 1908, and is loosely based on the pledge to the United States flag. There are several versions of this pledge. The following is the version most commonly used in Southern Baptist churches:
I pledge allegiance to the Christian flag
And to the Savior for whose Kingdom it stands,
One brotherhood, uniting all Christians
In service and love.
The pledge to the Bible
It is interesting to know that the pledge to the Bible has a uniquely Southern Baptist origin. In 1924 a young pastor named Homer Grice was called from his church in Washington, Georgia to lead Southern Baptists in the Vacation Bible school movement, which was spreading across the nation among many denominations. Dr. Grice served as director of the newly-created VBS Department of the Baptist Sunday School Board.
“After the coming of Dr. Homer L. Grice to the Sunday School Board to take up Vacation Bible School work, another salute was added [to the pledges to the U.S. and the Christian flags]. Dr. Grice took two verses of Scripture (Psalm 119:105, 111) and linked them together, creating the pledge to the Bible, which was introduced in 1925 in Vacation Bible Schools.”2
Flag Etiquette:
Flags should be held in salute position (staff leaning slightly forward) while marching. Never allow flags to touch the ground or floor.
A bearer standing at attention may place the staff end on the floor, holding the flag upright. While the pledge is spoken, the flag should be held in salute position, and then returned to the attention position afterward. The bearer does not say the pledges.
The United States flag should always hold the position of prominence over any other flag. Therefore, as the speaker faces the audience, the U.S. flag should be to his or her right, and the Christian flag to the left.
1 Sibley C. Burnett, Better Vacation Bible Schools (Nashville: Convention Press, 1957), p. 93.
2 Ibid.
