Public schools in St. Johns County, Florida have been infiltrated by Christianist radicals from the top of the organization down, leaving the community in an uproar and the school district in federal court.
The trouble started when several teachers at Webster Elementary School in St. Augustine decided this little ditty, "In God We Still Trust" by the country music group Diamond Rio, should be sung by third graders in their annual assembly at the end of the year. Parents of several children objected to the song, which calls for an end to separation of church and state through a Christian uprising. Now there are those among us Who want to push him out And erase his name from everything This country's all about >From the schoolhouse to the courthouse They're silencing his word Now it's time for all believers To make our voices heard The parents were told their children didn't have to sing this song. There's just one little catch. If they chose to abstain they would be barred from participation in the entire program. Cue up the first lawsuit. Only upon being informed the suit was filed did the school district pull the song from the program. But not without whining in a press release first. Even after a judge ruled that the school violated the First Amendment rights of the students and parents, teachers and administrators still didn't get it "This is obviously someone again using the school system (as well as taxpayers' money to defend the lawsuit) for their own personal agenda," [said Superintendent Joseph Joyner]. "Unfortunately, this is not unusual and distracts us from our mission." The nature of Joyner's "mission" is the issue. The superintendent and other county notables, including the sheriff, tax collector, and members of the state's attorneys office, belong to the steering committee of a group called "The Marketplace," whose flagrant goal is to bring Jesus into the office. The purpose of The Marketplace is to help men and women fulfill their call right in their own place of work. To realize that their workplace IS their ministry Where do the majority of people spend the majority of time interacting with the majority of unsaved people? it is where most people spend 60-70% of their waking hours the workplace. If we are going to see our society changed for Jesus Christ we will have to change the way we equip believers to live out their faith where they spend a majority of their time. If you thought there was a "wait, there's more" coming, you're right. Read more here: http://www.pensitoreview.com/2009/04/22/jesus-worshipers-run-amok-in-florida-public-school/ http://snipurl.com/ggu6v
