Skip to main content

Prayer in Schools


In the past few weeks, there has been some controversy in Lauderdale County, Alabama, (where I live) concerning prayer before football games in the public school system. Some saw this as school-sanctioned prayer, because it was broadcast over a PA system that belonged to the school, and a violation of First Amendment rights of the 8% of the crowd that didn't like it.

The superintendent, possibly in order to avoid a lawsuit for his already financially stressed department, stopped the prayer.

At one of the county schools last Thursday night, minutes before kickoff, three timid six-grade girls stood up and began to recite the Lord's prayer. Immediately, they were joined by almost every person sitting in the bleachers on the home side. When the guests of the opposing team saw what was going on, they stood and recited the prayer, too.

At another county school the same night, fans from both sides walked onto the field together and prayed. It caused the kickoff to be a few minutes late, but the penalty was declined.

No human can stop a Christian from praying. As a teacher, I can assure you that prayer in school is constant, even if it is not on an intercom system.

Daniel prayed, knowing he was heading for a lions' den, and we all know how that turned out!

Comments

  1. God bless those little girls!! It hurts to see how some are so bent on excluding God from everything.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Here's my thoughts for what they're worth... prayer is you talking to God... public prayer is someone else saying the words and you saying "oh yes, and me too." Cheers for the fans standing for the right thing... the Lord works in strange ways and maybe this is his way of jarring us into saying ... Enough is enough... I will pray, I will keep In God We Trust ... because God is the only thing you can trust today.
    Trying to stop prayer because of a few is like burning books, it makes the many more determined to overcome and the few to look like monsters. Thank you Mr. Green or whoever it was that complained... I'm hearing a joyful noise because of your narrow mind,

    ReplyDelete
  3. Looks like it all worked out in the long run! Good for those girls and the spectators.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Amish in Stantonville, Tennessee

Last week, my sis and her hub went with us to the Amish community near Stantonville, Tennessee.  It was a beautiful day, and we love driving to new places and finding new treasures.  We enjoy these mini-trips we take together, where we giggle a lot and get caught up on everything.  Also, the squirrels ate all our tomatoes, so we needed to find some to buy. You know the food you are buying is fresh when they bring it from the field while you are standing there waiting for it. Here is part of what we brought home, and it was all delicious. Stantonville is located in McNairy County, Tennessee, northwest of Shiloh National Military Park.

Holy Smoke Pie

I think it was in the late seventies that I first had Holy Smoke Pie.  It was at a party at Debra Morris Harville's house.  After we ate, Debra had to give the recipe to everyone there.  I came home and made it for my family, and it has been a favorite since then.  I always make it at holiday dinners, because I believe tradition is important.  It has become a favorite of our granddaughters. I've heard it called Chocolate Delight, Four-Layer Chocolate Dessert, and other odd things.  We call it Holy Smoke.  Here is how I make it: Chop us a cup of pecans; set aside. Add a stick of softened butter (NOT margarine) to one cup of self-rising flour. Cut the butter into the flour. Add the chopped pecans, and work it all together. Save two tablespoons of the pecans to sprinkle on top. Pour into a 9" x 12" pan that has been sprayed with cooking oil. Spread it over the bottom of the pan.  It helps to use your hands (o...

Out of the Dirt: Bragg-ing

Like every reader, I have my favorite writers. There have been so many that have stirred my emotions and made me a part of their world, and I'm thankful for that. The one is love the best, the one I cherish , is Rick Bragg. Yesterday, Rick was in our area. We were privileged to see a newly released documentary about his life called Out of the Dirt . Afterwards, he talked to us about family and roots. His first book, All over but the Shoutin' , was recommended to me years ago. Very early in the book, I was thinking, "Who is this? He is writing about me, about my family." I have never actually met anyone in the book, but they are all my neighbors and kinfolks. His other books are just as well-written. In his book, Writing for the Soul , Christian author Jerry Jenkins had this to say about Rick Bragg: I read other writers and strive to be like them. I read others, like Rick Bragg, the Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times columnist, and simply surrender, knowing I will ...