A California FFRF supporter, who must remain anonymous because she has two children in this public charter school, recounts her experiences with the school, which was originally started by families who went to the same church, but nevertheless is a public school:
My kids’ high school strongly encourages parental volunteering, so I went to the list to see what was available. They had “Moms in Prayer — Praying for Staff and Students” as a category! So I asked if sitting on my butt and thinking special thoughts would satisfy my need for 25 hours of volunteering (valued at $10 an hour cash or in-kind donation otherwise) because, if so, I’ve really been doing it wrong!
Go take a look [momsinprayer.org]. It’s a predatory group of evangelical Christians which aims to get more Christ in our schools. The principal, with whom I got into a bit of a brouhaha, said the group had helped a lot with things like staff luncheons, but there were already check boxes to volunteer to help with luncheons.
And while the Moms in Prayer site has a full page of “Benefits for Churches,” it has no page about “Benefits for Schools” or a place where anyone can log requests from the school for assistance. Here are some of its priorities, posted online:
• To pray that our children will receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, then stand boldly in their faith.
• To pray that teachers, administrative staff and students would come to faith in Jesus Christ.
• To pray that our schools will be directed by biblical values and high moral standards.
The principal eventually agreed that the group should be removed from the list of volunteer options. I’ve noticed a strong Christian undertone at our public school, which hosts a Christian club after class. The area overall is surprisingly religious, with lots of Mormons.
Cheers, and thanks for all that FFRF does!