A concerned parent of a Bentonville Public Schools student informed FFRF that a woman, Esther Seim, was leading a Fellowship of Christian Athletes group for students of Osage Creek Elementary School and Creekside Middle School in Bentonville, Ark. FCA was reportedly organized and run entirely by Seim, who was advertising the group to fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders, whom she bribed to attend with food, games, prizes and “new friends.”
Seim vocalized her intentions for the group, saying it existed for “spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ in our public school community.”
FFRF Senior Counsel Patrick Elliott wrote to the district on Oct. 25 warning against the public school’s unconstitutional appearance of endorsing religion over nonreligion by showing preferential treatment to an outside religious club.
An attorney for the district confirmed on Feb. 9 that the Fellowship of Christian Athletes had been discontinued.
