What would you do?

[otterinbham 0]

She has a daughter who is a Freshman at Spain Park High School in Birmingham. She is a cheerleader.

Now, the coach of the cheerleading squad recently got religion. Evidently, she feels that the members of her cheerleading squad should get it, too.

So she mandates that all members of her cheerleading squad must attend mandatory prayer breakfasts with the team. Further, if a cheerleader is late by so much as a minute, they must run 40 laps. Further, they are required to come to Church of Brook Hills on an upcoming Sunday morning to show solidarity with the team.

Okay, I attend church twice weekly. I serve on boards and teach Sunday school. But, to me, this is a textbook example why we have had to restrict religion in the schools, chiefly because well-meaning nitwits end up using their power to strongarm kids into To wit:

1) Mandatory prayer meetings. Last time I checked, the state has no right to tell me when, where, and how my children get religious instruction. While the notion of a prayer breakfast is fine, making it mandatory is not.

2) Punishing a teenager for being late to a mandatory prayer breakfast? Boy, that guarantees hostility to religion later on in life. Personally, my religious tradition is one that instills a love of church. My children enjoy going. The last thing I would want is somebody forcing them.

3) Requiring attendance at a particular church on Sunday morning as part of a school activity. I've visited the Church of Brook Hills during services. Quite frankly, it's only a notch or two above the Branch Davidians. I personally would regard this tactic as no more than coersion on the part of the church, the teacher, and ultimately the school.

So what should our friend do? Her 14-year-old isn't going to say anything because she feels intimidated and really just wants to fit in (As all high school freshmen do). Our friend doesn't want to raise a stink and have this pint sized dictator make her daughter's life miserable. Should she discreetly threaten them with legal action? Should she just call the newspapers? What?

[Tiger in Spain 0]

All the parents should get together and confront the coach in person. If that doesn't help, go with the newspaper expose/legal action.

[80Tiger 906]

Couple of comments on this. My experience from my own children and knowing other kids, is that sometime the message gets distorted by the time it gets home. Now that being said, the breakfast prayer meetings should be voluntairly (sp). They should not be mandated nor should there be punishment for not going to them. The church attendence sounds like the total football/cheerleading group is trying to go to church as group. Nothing wrong with that, plenty of schools/teams do that. I am like you, I would pick another church besides that one.

As far as the breakfast meetings, I think a conversation with the sponser is well within the lines of what the parents should do, espicially the part about discipline if the girls miss.

[Jenny AU-92 0]

If enough parents complain, first to the cheerleader coach and then if necessary to the principal, then it will change. I am all for prayer breakfasts and team unity, but I have also advocated voluntary participation. Going to ONE church service if it is mandated for the football team also is fine - it's a good idea even. But the other requirements are out of line.

[Tigermike 3,425]

So she mandates

That is the problem.

Couple of comments on this. My experience from my own children and knowing other kids, is that sometime the message gets distorted by the time it gets home.

And that could be another problem.

And don't forget how many parents are oh so very quick to take up for their little "darlings", when in fact the little darlings need their butts kicked.

[otterinbham 0]

If enough parents complain, first to the cheerleader coach and then if necessary to the principal, then it will change. I am all for prayer breakfasts and team unity, but I have also advocated voluntary participation. Going to ONE church service if it is mandated for the football team also is fine - it's a good idea even. But the other requirements are out of line.

Oh, I saw the information sheet with my own eyes. It said "Mandatory."

Jenny, I understand what you're trying to say. However, I'm trying to figure out how a school can or should even mandate one church service. A public school isn't in the business of requiring religious participation of its students. I know fundamentalists think otherwise, but that's why there are private religious schools. Quite frankly, I have often wondered about the herd mentality of religion and sports. Having played on a football team, I found that the "voluntary" devotions weren't all that voluntary at all. Miss one, and the coach would find reasons for you to run stadium steps.

What's more, I come from a liturgical religious background, whereas the religious devotions and prayer services found in these devotions and prayer breakfasts are typically fundamentalist. Anybody who has spent more than ten nanoseconds in church different than their own church knows that the very language of prayer is highly denominational in nature. While I find the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer to be uplifting and transcendent, somebody from a different tradition might find it unnecessarily formal and stuffy. Meanwhile, while someone from a fundamentalist tradition may take comfort in a more intimate embrace of God in a prayer service, I think it sounds as if God were your fishing buddy, and you were asking Him to hand up another night crawler from the back of the boat. So what you term as "a good idea" may actually run afoul of another person's approach to God.

But to get back to the original issue, there's a lot of wisdom in keeping school and faith separate, or at least voluntary. For example, I know one cheerleader on this squad is Muslim (Obviously a fairly liberal set of parents of that faith, but Muslim nonetheless). Should she be required to participate in a religious service that's utterly removed from her religious faith?

Actually, thinking back to my own experience, the list of these encroachments goes on and on. Heck, one of my best friends in middle school was Indian. My fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Alva Hill, would make us write essays on Jesus Christ. We continually had "voluntary" religious assemblies. But if you didn't attend, you had to vegetate in the study hall for an hour. My Senior English teacher wouldn't let me do a term paper on Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" because she was an atheist author. My sophmore geometry teacher would give extra credit it we memorized a Bible verse. And this was at Vestavia. Even then, I remember resenting somebody using the teacher's podium as a bully pulpit to ram their version of the faith down my throat.

Just some perspective from a Christian who doesn't subscribe to the fundamentalist viewpoint on things.

[Jenny AU-92 0]

If it is just a typical Sunday service with no special program addressing the football team, then yeah, I would have a problem with it too. But if the church is offering to hold a special service to recognize a local football team and to pray for their safety and success in the upcoming season, then what is the big deal with that? Even a Muslim should have no problem with that - "participation" on the part of the student is pretty much limited to sititng there and listening. You don't have to embrace a religion in order to sit through a service - I have sat through many Masses, but I did not participate beyond the basics and was not offended int eh least. If they were offering to baptize all the players and cheerleaders, that's another story. If a Muslim mosque or a Jewish synagogue offered to do the same thing, then so be it. In my hometown, we usually did these kind of things at the local Methodist church because it was the only place big enough to seat everyone. But it was basically a non-denominational service.

[MDM4AU 337]

This should not be mandatory and the parents should address the sponsor personally. Initially, outrage should be set aside. It sends a poor message to the kids. This can be handled civilly to begin with without hurting the credibility of the sponsor. That credibility will be important if this is resolved and the kids remain on the squad. If it can't be handled quietly, then by all means get to the bottom of it. If the sponsor can't understand the concerns and address it as an adult then it should be handled accordingly.

On the unity thing, go work at The Jimmy Hale Mission/Jessie's Place one weekend. Go to Children's Hospital and put on a clinic for the children there. Pick a charity and get involved. With JDRF, they could get involved in the "Walk to Find a Cure" and challenge all the other squads in the area to see who could raise the most money. The winner gets a trophy to keep in their school until they lose. It can be passed around with the winning schools name engraved each year. There are a number of things they can do to build unity w/o being divisive.

[otterinbham 0]

This should not be mandatory and the parents should address the sponsor personally. Initially, outrage should be set aside. It sends a poor message to the kids. This can be handled civilly to begin with without hurting the credibility of the sponsor. That credibility will be important if this is resolved and the kids remain on the squad. If it can't be handled quietly, then by all means get to the bottom of it. If the sponsor can't understand the concerns and address it as an adult then it should be handled accordingly.

On the unity thing, go work at The Jimmy Hale Mission/Jessie's Place one weekend. Go to Children's Hospital and put on a clinic for the children there. Pick a charity and get involved. With JDRF, they could get involved in the "Walk to Find a Cure" and challenge all the other squads in the area to see who could raise the most money. The winner gets a trophy to keep in their school until they lose. It can be passed around with the winning schools name engraved each year. There are a number of things they can do to build unity w/o being divisive.

See, I think that's a sensible approach.

[Blonde Wasabi 0]

You don't have to embrace a religion in order to sit through a service - I have sat through many Masses, but I did not participate beyond the basics and was not offended int eh least.

A little bit out of context, but Ranger & I attend midnight mass on Christmas Eve at the Catholic Church that I grew up in because it has a christmas spirit that many churches fail to have during the holiday season. It is just a very fitting way to start Christmas and I can tell you that by no means does Ranger have any intentions of embracing Catholicisim. He goes for the mood, not for the sermon or therefore lack of.

[Ranger12 46]

You don't have to embrace a religion in order to sit through a service - I have sat through many Masses, but I did not participate beyond the basics and was not offended int eh least.

A little bit out of context, but Ranger & I attend midnight mass on Christmas Eve at the Catholic Church that I grew up in because it has a christmas spirit that many churches fail to have during the holiday season. It is just a very fitting way to start Christmas and I can tell you that by no means does Ranger have any intentions of embracing Catholicisim. He goes for the mood, not for the sermon or therefore lack of.

Yeah, the sermons are really moving, but like my loving wife said, I enjoy the idea and mood of being in church at midnight on Christmas Eve. I wish my church and more churches besides the Catholic church did this. I know alot have candle light services around 6 pm or so, but there is just something about that midnight timeframe that gives it a special atmosphere. That is basically the only time you find me in a Catholic Church.

Like Jenny, I have issues with some of their beliefs, but it does not offend me. I have actually attended a Muslim and Hindu service. I am strong enough in my faith, but tolerant of other beliefs that it does not offend me.

Faith should not be forced upon or mandatory, because that is not how one gets faith to begin with. I do think schools need to allow God back into the classroom, but they can teach various types of beliefs about God in the classroom. Most religions that involve and interpretation of God have good storng moral beliefs that all could learn from. As a Chrisitian, I would have no problem with that. I believe this country was founded on Christian principles and beliefs, but it was all founded so that other beliefs could worship without persecution. Too bad that atheism has taken over as the state mandated religion.

Anyway, I support a coach urging their players/cheerleaders to attend church. I even support making a mandatory one attendance at a church if the church is going to recognize the team. If a person is not of that faith, they should be strong enough in their faith to not get offended, if they do, then to me they really are not that secure about their own faith. Prayer breakfasts should not be mandatory but encouraged for team unity. The person can at least eat with the team and then be excused from an religious activity they are not comfortable with. Wanting others to be tolerant of your individual faith also means tolerance of the faith of the majority.

If what is going on with this coach is as you say it is, and I do hold some speculation because of how stories get bent out of shape, then this coach is out of line and needs to be talked to by the parents first. They at least owe her that courtesy seeing how their girls may not have a squad without the sponsor taking the team to oversee the team.

[bojack34 2]

You don't have to embrace a religion in order to sit through a service - I have sat through many Masses, but I did not participate beyond the basics and was not offended int eh least.

A little bit out of context, but Ranger & I attend midnight mass on Christmas Eve at the Catholic Church that I grew up in because it has a christmas spirit that many churches fail to have during the holiday season. It is just a very fitting way to start Christmas and I can tell you that by no means does Ranger have any intentions of embracing Catholicisim. He goes for the mood, not for the sermon or therefore lack of.

Yeah, the sermons are really moving, but like my loving wife said, I enjoy the idea and mood of being in church at midnight on Christmas Eve. I wish my church and more churches besides the Catholic church did this. I know alot have candle light services around 6 pm or so, but there is just something about that midnight timeframe that gives it a special atmosphere. That is basically the only time you find me in a Catholic Church.

Like Jenny, I have issues with some of their beliefs, but it does not offend me. I have actually attended a Muslim and Hindu service. I am strong enough in my faith, but tolerant of other beliefs that it does not offend me.

Faith should not be forced upon or mandatory, because that is not how one gets faith to begin with. I do think schools need to allow God back into the classroom, but they can teach various types of beliefs about God in the classroom. Most religions that involve and interpretation of God have good storng moral beliefs that all could learn from. As a Chrisitian, I would have no problem with that. I believe this country was founded on Christian principles and beliefs, but it was all founded so that other beliefs could worship without persecution. Too bad that atheism has taken over as the state mandated religion.

Anyway, I support a coach urging their players/cheerleaders to attend church. I even support making a mandatory one attendance at a church if the church is going to recognize the team. If a person is not of that faith, they should be strong enough in their faith to not get offended, if they do, then to me they really are not that secure about their own faith. Prayer breakfasts should not be mandatory but encouraged for team unity. The person can at least eat with the team and then be excused from an religious activity they are not comfortable with. Wanting others to be tolerant of your individual faith also means tolerance of the faith of the majority.

If what is going on with this coach is as you say it is, and I do hold some speculation because of how stories get bent out of shape, then this coach is out of line and needs to be talked to by the parents first. They at least owe her that courtesy seeing how their girls may not have a squad without the sponsor taking the team to oversee the team.

Preach on brother.

[otterinbham 0]

You don't have to embrace a religion in order to sit through a service - I have sat through many Masses, but I did not participate beyond the basics and was not offended int eh least.

A little bit out of context, but Ranger & I attend midnight mass on Christmas Eve at the Catholic Church that I grew up in because it has a christmas spirit that many churches fail to have during the holiday season. It is just a very fitting way to start Christmas and I can tell you that by no means does Ranger have any intentions of embracing Catholicisim. He goes for the mood, not for the sermon or therefore lack of.

Yeah, the sermons are really moving, but like my loving wife said, I enjoy the idea and mood of being in church at midnight on Christmas Eve. I wish my church and more churches besides the Catholic church did this. I know alot have candle light services around 6 pm or so, but there is just something about that midnight timeframe that gives it a special atmosphere. That is basically the only time you find me in a Catholic Church.

Like Jenny, I have issues with some of their beliefs, but it does not offend me. I have actually attended a Muslim and Hindu service. I am strong enough in my faith, but tolerant of other beliefs that it does not offend me.

Faith should not be forced upon or mandatory, because that is not how one gets faith to begin with. I do think schools need to allow God back into the classroom, but they can teach various types of beliefs about God in the classroom. Most religions that involve and interpretation of God have good storng moral beliefs that all could learn from. As a Chrisitian, I would have no problem with that. I believe this country was founded on Christian principles and beliefs, but it was all founded so that other beliefs could worship without persecution. Too bad that atheism has taken over as the state mandated religion.

Anyway, I support a coach urging their players/cheerleaders to attend church. I even support making a mandatory one attendance at a church if the church is going to recognize the team. If a person is not of that faith, they should be strong enough in their faith to not get offended, if they do, then to me they really are not that secure about their own faith. Prayer breakfasts should not be mandatory but encouraged for team unity. The person can at least eat with the team and then be excused from an religious activity they are not comfortable with. Wanting others to be tolerant of your individual faith also means tolerance of the faith of the majority.

If what is going on with this coach is as you say it is, and I do hold some speculation because of how stories get bent out of shape, then this coach is out of line and needs to be talked to by the parents first. They at least owe her that courtesy seeing how their girls may not have a squad without the sponsor taking the team to oversee the team.

Wanting others to be tolerant of your individual faith also means tolerance of the faith of the majority.

Nonsense. Dragging a hundred kids to a mandatory church service on Sunday morning is just that--dragging a hundred kids to a mandatory church service. And while you should be applauded for attending a Hindu and Muslim service, you were not required to do it. You went on your own volition to more fully appreciate the religious beliefs of others. There is a fundamental difference between that and a football coach telling a 15-year-old that he has to go the Church of Brook Hills at 9 a.m., chiefly so the team can be ackowledged for 30 seconds during the announcement portion of the service.

In addition, I take exception to your statement that Atheism is the official state religion. Nothing could be further from the truth. Religious Neutrality is the official state religion. And, quite frankly, all you have to do is look at Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Bosnia, Northern Ireland, and half a dozen other hotspots to understand the wisdom of this. The US is far and away the most religious of any industrialized country. Seems like this stance has not hurt us one bit.

Actually, we just had a little dustup on this very subject when the Reverend Roy Moore tried to sneak the Ten Commandments into the Supreme Court building. Aside from using the Christian faith as his personal political football, Roy Moore violated the rights of a sizable number of Alabamians. Why? Because even Christians cannot agree on what is the correct set of Ten Commandments. The Protestants use the version suggested by Origen in the 2nd Century, while the Catholics use the version offered by St. Augustine in the 4th Century--and both versions are substantially different in content from one another, not just wording. So unless you just tack a bunch of roman numerals on the wall (a meaningless gesture in itself), you cannot bring the Ten Commandments into a public building without endorsing one branch of Christendom over another. If Christians cannot agree on something as basic as the Ten Commandments, how are they going to agree on something like the prayers for a mandatory team meeting?

And really, the well meaning nitwits behind this kind of stuff don't ever consider that, for many, religious faith is a deeply private thing. Quite frankly, there are many devout, sincere Christians to whom public prayer is anathema. In the Sermon on the Mount, the very ethical core of the faith, Christ specifically tells us to not pray in public. Yet there are those among us who bray out public prayers at the drop of the hat, from opening a football game right down to opening up a new Burger King. And while corporate prayer inside a church is considered to be an acceptable forum for many denominations, praying out on the street corner is not. In fact, there are some sects (Quakers and Shakers among them) to whom prayer even inside of church actually violates Christ's commandments. While you could probably count the number of Quaker football players on one hand, are you going to tell a Quaker tough luck?

Then there's the practical matter of your solution that a player must eat breakfast with the team, but then leave before the service. So what you're saying is that you're forcing the kid to get out of bed at 6:30 (and his parents, too, for that matter) in the morning on his weekend to gulp down runny scrambled eggs with his teammates, then leave to go home. See how quickly this spirals into absurdity?

And, please. None of us were born yesterday. A religious service for the purposes of recognizing a football team is nothing more than a recruiting ploy on the part of the church in question. Unless they're playing highlights of the game, reviewing game film, or handing out trophies, it's very much outside of the scope of what should be required of players. Therefore, it shouldn't be required of them at all.

[Ranger12 46]

Otter, bro, you need to make sure you read my whole post instead of focusing on one comment. If you would have read my whole post, you would have saw where I did say that the coach should not be making multiple church visits mandatory. I did say that the parents need to approach her about.

As for as my comment about tolerance, you took that out of context as well. That comment was made about how if a person on a team wants others to be tolerant of their beliefs, they also have to be tolerant of the majority's beliefs as well. You may not agree with that, but I hate to tell you in today's diverse society, if you want to be part of some type of team, all have to be willing to compromise to co-exist succesfully. Usually there is a going to be a majority belief with one or two minority beliefs. They all have to be tolerant of each other and willing to compromise. That is all that comment meant.

Why do you take exception about my statement on the state supported religion of Atheism? What is there to take exception too? Did I miss something when you said that you were a Chrisitan? Not trying to call you out, but as a Christian, it does not concern you that the state and federal government has basically said that God can't be talked about in taxpayer facilities? Sounds like state supported atheism to me. Also, about religion being a private matter, well that is correct, many "religious" people do keep it private. However, as a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ, nowhere does he say to keep our faith private from the world. We have a "personal" relationship with Him, but we are to be "ambassadors" to the world.

Whats wrong with a kid getting up early to eat breakfast with the team? What's wrong with her leaving before the religious part starts if she wants too? Again, all need to be tolerant of each other. But with your philisophy, nobody is being tolerant. So what if a teammate has to get up a little earlier then normal for a team breakfast? I don't see the big deal. You would think it was the end of the world the way you are talking. If that is going to be an issue for the girl, them maybe she does not want to be a cheerleader that bad. Again, she needs to compromise and come to the breakfast and the team needs to compromise and not make a big deal if she leaves before any religious part starts. I don't see what is so complicated about that.

Heck, I thought my post was open-minded about the whole cheerleading issue. But it seems that you would rather be close minded and intolerant and not willing to compromise, whereas my whole post was about everybody being tolerant and compromising for team unity.

[otterinbham 0]

Otter, bro, you need to make sure you read my whole post instead of focusing on one comment. If you would have read my whole post, you would have saw where I did say that the coach should not be making multiple church visits mandatory. I did say that the parents need to approach her about.

As for as my comment about tolerance, you took that out of context as well. That comment was made about how if a person on a team wants others to be tolerant of their beliefs, they also have to be tolerant of the majority's beliefs as well. You may not agree with that, but I hate to tell you in today's diverse society, if you want to be part of some type of team, all have to be willing to compromise to co-exist succesfully. Usually there is a going to be a majority belief with one or two minority beliefs. They all have to be tolerant of each other and willing to compromise. That is all that comment meant.

Heck, I thought my post was open-minded about the issue.

No, I understood your post completely. And it was indeed open-minded. However, I'm making the point that one mandatory church visit is one too many. Heck, I sit on the vestry of my church and perform outreach weekly. But I am very uncomfortable with the notion of forcing anybody to sit in a pew for any reason whatsoever. It does nothing to engender faith, and it is really nothing more than backdoor evangelizing.

[Ranger12 46]

And, please. None of us were born yesterday. A religious service for the purposes of recognizing a football team is nothing more than a recruiting ploy on the part of the church in question. Unless they're playing highlights of the game, reviewing game film, or handing out trophies, it's very much outside of the scope of what should be required of players. Therefore, it shouldn't be required of them at all.

This tells me that you have never been to anything like this at all then. I have been to several, as a player, coach, and church member. Not a once I have ever been too one in which "recruiting" church members from the team was involved. Sorry, but I find that comment laughable. Most of the time, it was known that most of the players already went to other churches, so there was not need to for "recruiting". Plus, normally their parents were there also. Every service I have been involved with was absolutely what it was meant for, at team-building effort and for that particular church to recognize the team. Heck most of the time, the coach was even the member of another church, so why would he be taking the team to a church for recruiting purposes if he was not a member of that church.

I don't know much about this church you are talking about and how they go about things. They may be different and go overboard with their recruiting. I have known of churches that will bug the heck out of a visitor to come back, even when that visitor has stated to them several times that they are a member elsewhere. It has happened to me and I usually never set forth in that church again. I believe once a visitor tells you that they are a member elsewhere, that needs to be it. Like I said, I think the concerned parent or parents need to talk to the coach first and see if there is a compromise that can reached. If the parent is not satisfied, then they need to go to the next person in the chain of command and so on. It does seem like the coach is being a bit too pushy, but her intentions are probably good. She sounds like a new Christian and is very excited about her new faith and wants to share it, which she should feel free too, but somebody needs to set down with here and counsel her that "sharing" and "forcing" is not the same thing. Given what seems to be the decaying moral fiber of our youth, she is probably thinking she is doing the kids a favor, but she is going about it the wrong way.

[GalensGhost 0]

All the parents should get together and confront the coach in person. If that doesn't help, go with the newspaper expose/legal action.

No, I think that's the wrong approach. Go to the principal/headmaster first. Explain the situation calmly and rationally, no emotional outbursts. Simply tell him/her that they feel the pressure being put on their daughter is inappropriate and ask him to resolve the issue immediately -- and to please do so without mentioning their daughter by name.

If the principal doesn't resolve it, then go to the school board or the superintendent.

Going to the coach directly ensures repercussions for the daughter. Going over the principal and school board's heads to a lawyer or newspaper guarantees they won't cooperate willingly.

[Ranger12 46]

All the parents should get together and confront the coach in person. If that doesn't help, go with the newspaper expose/legal action.

No, I think that's the wrong approach. Go to the principal/headmaster first. Explain the situation calmly and rationally, no emotional outbursts. Simply tell him/her that they feel the pressure being put on their daughter is inappropriate and ask him to resolve the issue immediately -- and to please do so without mentioning their daughter by name.

If the principal doesn't resolve it, then go to the school board or the superintendent.

Going to the coach directly ensures repercussions for the daughter. Going over the principal and school board's heads to a lawyer or newspaper guarantees they won't cooperate willingly.

I have to respectfully disagree with that. As a coach and as most coaches I know, they prefer the parent come to them first about an issue to see if it can be resolved between them. Most coaches I know would get even more pissed if a parent went over their heads without coming to them first. I see your point of view in trying to keep the kids name a secret so there are not any repercussions, but the majority of the time, the coach will find out which kids parents went to the principal anyway. Kids have a way of blabbing to each other.

[tiger88 934]

Here is a textbook reason why there needs to be strict controls on religion in schools.

[otterinbham 0]

WAIT! WAIT! IT GETS BETTER!

Evidently several parents have complained to this cheerleading coach! So, really ticked off, she goes back to the cheerleading squad and says that she's going to have to have mandatory devotionals because they're full of the devil.

See? See what kind of flakes try to ram religious education down these kids throats in the public school? They have no boundaries, and they regard the teacher's lectern as their bully pulpit. To them the highest good is to force religion on others.

So now, parents of 11 of the 13 members of the squad are going directly to the Hoover School board. Details to come.

[AUloggerhead 2,356]

Public school, right? I don't see what the problem is. The coach cannot force the students to attend a religious service as it is a violation of their 1st Amendment rights. Here's what you do if you want to quickly resolve the problem: hire a lawyer and take him/her with you visit the school's District Superintendent, bypassing the coach & principal. Let the lawyer do the talking and then listen to the Superintendent make the phone call to the principal instructing him/her to rein in the Bible-thumping cheerleading coach. S*** rolls downhill, you know. It should take no more than an hour unless the Superintendent is a slow-witted dolt who's ignorant of how much defending the cheerleading coach is going to cost the district. The chain of command is for employees, not for outsiders (i.e. the parents in this case.) If you want something done immediately, go right to the top and let the top guy use his chain of command to get the word out. Don't waste your time starting at the bottom. Good luck.

[LegalEagle 22]

Anyone who supports this activity or fails to denounce it is anti-American and a threat to our liberty.

That said, this case is closed - but with all this talk of breakfast, man, I'm gettin' hungry. *grin*

[WarTim 3,463]

I am a proud Southern Baptist. I am SB by Choice. I am a Christian by the Grace of God.

"Mandatory" has no place in this situation. Well intended people sometimes can't see the forest for the trees.

I would talk with the principal and go further if needed.

[LegalEagle 22]

Anyone who supports this activity or fails to denounce it is anti-American and a threat to our liberty.

That said, this case is closed - but with all this talk of breakfast, man, I'm gettin' hungry. *grin*

Biscuit Report - Those sausage 'n egg biscuits hit the spot this morning. My thanks to whoever started this thread.

[CCTAU 3,369]

It's any easy solution. Send a note stating that your daughter attends church with you and has a very active involvement in the church. And also that you have prayer breakfasts with your children on a regular basis. Thank them for their concern and their careful leadership of the cheer squad. Then let them know that if they have any questions about your undera-ged daughter's salvation or religious prefernces, they should please speak to you.

Then if there are any issues whatsoever, get a lawyer. The ACLU will get you one for free. Might as well get some good out of those people.