Earlier this month, a groundbreaking ceremony took place in Port Arthur, Texas for what will eventually become the new home for Sam Houston Elementary School. The building is scheduled to open in the fall of 2018.
But if you attended the ceremony, or read a reporter’s account of it, no one would blame you for asking if this was going to be a private Christian school. The entire event resembled a church service.
Sam Houston Principal Marcia Sharp gave opening remarks and an introduction to invocations by several church and pastor leaders.
“Through Christ all things are possible,” Sharp said before the church figures led a string of blessings from each church leader for the new campus.
In his official welcome and introduction, Dr. Mark Porterie echoed those statements, saying, “When God is in the midst, how can we fail?”
Well, they’re failing already by breaking the law before the new school even exists.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a letter to Superintendent Porterie on Wednesday warning him against this sort of thing happening again in the future:
FFRF asks that the District be mindful of its duty to serve all the students and families within its community, not just those in the Christian majority. The District must not incorporate prayer or other religious endorsements into future school-sponsored events. Please respond in writing with the steps the District takes to remedy this constitutional violation.
It’s not like the administrators won’t have another opportunity to preach when the school opens, so this warning shot is important. If the school breaks the law again, the consequences could be much more serious.
(Thanks to Brian for the link)
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