After Chris Hodge retired as principal of Allis Elementary School in Madison in the spring of 2006, she lounged around exactly zero days before throwing herself into her next project.
Three months later, she was back educating children, this time as founder of a free after-school academic program at Mt. Zion Baptist Church on the city’s South Side.
“Education is a religious calling to me, because I feel God gave me this talent and I need to use it, not just sit around,” said Hodge, 73, who has led the program without pay for nine years.
On this Easter, as Christians mark the holiday that commemorates the resurrection of their savior, the State Journal looks at how Hodge and three others live out their faith in service to others. Through their actions, the four hope to be examples of Christ’s teachings.
“When I was a classroom teacher, I wanted the underdogs, those kids everyone else had written off as losers,” Hodge said. “To me, that’s what Christianity is about, giving and loving.”