Posted on 06/05/2013 10:54:28 AM PDT by Mrs. Don-o
PICKENS COUNTY, S.C. – A high school valedictorian from South Carolina ripped up his approved speech on stage this past weekend, and minutes later, delivered the Lord’s Prayer in defiance of the school district’s decision to no longer include prayer at graduation ceremonies.
Roy Costner IV drew loud applause and cheers when he surprised attendees of the Liberty High School graduation at Clemson’s Littlejohn Colliseum on Saturday.
“From the ACLU sending FOIA requests to every district in the state this year after the Chesterfield County case, then the Freedom From Religion Foundation sent us a complaint about religion at board meetings and some other issues as well,” Pickens County School District spokesman John Eby said, the district has been under fire.
Therefore, officials decided to end invocations at all school functions and replace prayer at high school graduations with a moment of silence.
However, Costner wasn’t going to let activist groups kick God out of his graduation. After taking the podium, Costner took his approved speech and ripped it in half for all to see.
“They write their speeches,” Eby told local television station WYFF. “They send them to someone on staff to have them approved.”
After speaking from a separate script for a few minutes, Costner then began to thank his parents for his Christian upbringing.
“Those that we look up to, they have helped carve and mold us into the young adults that we are today,” he said. “I’m so glad that both of my parents led me to the Lord at a young age.”
“And I think most of you will understand when I say…” he continued, surprising the crowd with what came next.
“Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name,” Costner declared. “Thy Kingdom come…”
As attendees realized that Costner was reciting the Lord’s Prayer, applause began to break out in the colliseum. Within seconds, the applause was accompanied by loud cheers.
“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,” he continued. “For Thine is the Kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.”
The crowd again broke into cheers and applause as Costner concluded, and one faculty member sat smiling behind him.
“I think it took a lot of courage to do that,” attendee Logan Gibson told reporters. “People were [supportive] that he stood up for what he believed in.”
Eby said that the district will not be taking any action against Costner.
“The bottom line is, we’re not going to punish students for expressing their religious faiths,” he stated. “He’s a graduate now. There’s nothing we can do about it, even if we wanted to.”
An online video of Costner’s prayer has received over 13,000 hits and more than 300 likes since yesterday.
Amen. Amen. Like your user name. Nice. Hopefully He will be here shortly. I look up every day!!
To all LIBs: Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! You’ll never stop us. Justice will find you...all of you.
It’s called free-speech
The Costner’s must be some proud parents! God bless them and Roy!
” I am Jewish, and this brought a tear of hope to my eye. America was founded with Christian faith at its core, and will not survive if we drive it from the public sphere. I love my Christian brothers and sisters and will continue to work withn them to take back freedom of religion from the atheists and Marxists who want only to bring our nation down.”
A class act. Thank you
“What would your reaction have been if he was Muslim and delivered a prayer in Arabic?”
“Leave before the explosion?”
LOL!!
Do you mind if I use that in a Facebook post?
I intend to never miss an opportunity to repeat this message.
God bless you!
I thought it was great also.
5.56mm
You know, we just came back from Gettysburg and I'm reminded of what was said there and what we the American People must do:
[T]hat we here highly resolve that these dead [those that have died for our freedom] shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
(Lincoln's Gettysburg Address Source: http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/gettysburg.htm)
We need to see MUCH MORE of this...
I had teachers that did that for me. The Holy Spirit determines which sentences will "stick," but you have to open your mouth!
This is one of the best stories ever.
I think that's about right.
Its about time SOMEBODY had the testacles to stand up and defy the monsters in the ACLU.
Maybe ther IS hope for America after all.
The link is dead. Did they PULL it???
I reckon if that had happened, there would have been a veritable outbreak of free speech, much of it all at once.
Which suits me fine. The the best response to free speech, is a w-h-o-l-e lot more free speech.
Absolutely use that motto! Write it in mile-high letters, put it on every check you write.
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