Posted on 05/21/2004 9:37:52 AM PDT by OldBlondBabe
WATERFORD TWP. - Frustrated after being told by school officials he could not visit with elementary students from his church during lunch hours, a Waterford youth pastor has decided to run for the Waterford Board of Education. The Rev. Joshua Combs, a 23-year-old children's minister at the 5,500-member Faith Baptist Church, started meeting with groups of children inside Waterford elementary schools in the fall.
"They were social visits," he said. "Sometimes we'd chat. Other times we had Bible study."
Alerted by teachers, school officials told Combs his actions were in violation of the separation of church and state.
Joshua Combs' last student visit was in February. In April, Combs and Faith Baptist parishioner and Waterford parent, Michael Nolan, 32, both filed to run for the school board seats. The election is June 14.
Solidly supporting Joshua Combs is his father, the Rev. Jim Combs, the pastor of Faith Baptist, a growing nondenominational church whose main campus is on Airport Road.
Both ministers said they believe clergy of any faith should be allowed to meet with students, as long as parents approve and there is no religious instruction.
"If a child is struggling with something, a pastor can go in and ask, 'Is everything OK at home?' or 'How's it going on your baseball team?' That's what we're saying," Jim Combs said. "But because we work in a church, we're not allowed in. We find that challenging."
School officials say they have consulted attorneys and tried to find a compromise, including steering the ministers to mentoring and other volunteer programs open to any adult.
"If we open this up, I have to open it to everybody," said Waterford Superintendent Tom Tattan. "And then it could be anybody (coming in)."
Tattan said holding gatherings before and after school is fine.
"You can take the kids out of the building at lunchtime to meet," he said. "We invite people to volunteer to tutor, read to kids, but we don't have people drop in and out for lunch with kids. That doesn't happen."
The district's policy regarding school guests states: "The superintendent or the principal has the authority to prohibit the entry of any person to a school of this district or to expel any person when there is reason to believe the presence of such person would be detrimental to the good order of the school."
The Combses said now they understand they are not to provide "religious instruction" during the school day.
"We've accepted that," Joshua Combs said.
Muddying the waters is a letter sent by Jim Combs to parishioners accusing incumbent school board members of conflict of interest and urging voters to support Combs and Nolan.
One incumbent board member mentioned was Dave Smith, who is running, but not for the seats Combs or Nolan are seeking.
"I don't know why (the letter) included me and my wife," said Smith, sounding baffled. "I don't believe it represents the good people of Faith Baptist."
One parent who saw the letter was also concerned.
"I thought there were misleading remarks," said Mike Mitchell, who has two children attending Waterford schools. "What's troubling is the language, statements that might be hurtful to individuals."
Jim Combs said he regrets sending the letter.
"We may not be in agreement with everything they do, but they are good people," he said. "I apologize if I hurt someone."
The one-page letter also may jeopardize the church's nonprofit status, according to H.R. 235 that states churches and other 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations are prohibited from participating in certain political campaign activities such as endorsing candidates.
As for the idea of letting the ministers meet with students, Smith and others suggested they try standard channels.
"Any parent or resident can contact the district's community relations office and look for ways to volunteer," Smith said.
More power to this minister. Better than whining about it and/or just waiting for the rapture.
INTREP - SECULARIZATION OF AMERICA ALERT!
"Koran in the curriculum good, Bible at Lunch bad." - ACLU handbook.
How about we print Bible verses on Condoms? Should be no problem with that, right?
"including steering the ministers to mentoring and other volunteer programs..."
nice innocent word ... "steering" ...
Through threat?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.