Posted on 05/16/2002 2:29:30 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
A private Christian school and a kindergartener's mother who stripteases for a living are quickly becoming the focus of the latest debate on religious freedom.
Officials of Capital Christian School in Sacramento, Calif., discovered that what they thought had been a private meeting with a mother of a kindergartner who violated her commitment to school policy had become a news story on the local CBS affiliate KOVR.
The story first came to the attention of WorldNetDaily when WND columnist Rebecca Hagelin was invited Wednesday morning to discuss the issue on CNN's popular afternoon talk show "Talk Back Live." The only information circulating at the time was a brief description of a broadcast report filed by KOVR-TV which broke the story late Tuesday evening.
The summary blurb summed up the story this way: "A mother says her daughter is getting expelled from kindergarten because mom is a part-time stripper. This is about a five-year-old girl who attends Capital Christian School in Sacramento. But her mother says when the school found out she was an exotic dancer they told her she had one week to get her daughter out of their school."
Since the school's position was entirely absent from the report, Hagelin contacted the pastor of Capital Christian Church, the sponsoring church of the school. Senior Pastor Rick Cole was clearly disturbed by the events and reluctant to discuss details. Cole did, however, agree to provide certain facts about the case that had not been disclosed by the mother when she contacted the local television station about the situation.
Although Cole did not reveal the identity of the mother or child, WND subsequently learned their identities from KOVR-TV reporter George Franco, but has opted not to disclose the names to protect the child's privacy.
Hagelin reported the other side of the story during her appearance on CNN yesterday.
"By air time Wednesday afternoon, I had secured two interviews with pastor Cole from my car phone," she said. "His greatest concern and reluctance to speak came from his desire to protect the mother and her daughter." Given that only part of the story had become national news, she added, Cole thought it important provide the rest of the story.
Cole explained that recently school officials had become aware that the mother in question works as a part-time strip-teaser dancer at a local club. Since her occupation is in violation of an agreement with and commitment to the school philosophy that parents must sign before the children are admitted to school, school officials, including Cole met the mother.
Not wanting to divulge the personal and confidential details of the conversation with the mother, Cole only briefly outlined the details of the offer officials had made the mother -- which had been left out of previous news stories.
"The school offered to waive the last month's tuition for the student so the young girl could remain in school to the end of the year if the mother would quit her job as a strip-tease dancer. They also offered to support the mother and walk 'hand in hand' with her as she worked through the spiritual issues involved and sought to better her life," said Hagelin. "The pastor believed that the meeting had been well-received by the mother, but the next thing he knew he was getting calls from the local media. I found Pastor Cole to be clearly upset that his efforts to help a woman in a very bad situation were not successful."
As a requirement for admission, parents of prospective students must sign a "commitment" to support the philosophy of the school. That philosophy, in part, reads: "Emphasis is placed on learning about God and the truths of God's Word in relationship to man and his world; recognizing that the way to God comes through personal faith in Jesus Christ; and Christian maturity comes by application of the truths of the Bible in all areas of life." In signing the document, parents agree to maintain a "partnership" with the school "regarding the standards and criteria of a Christian learning structure that involves the entire family."
"Although school officials see the mother's job as a stripper as a clear violation of her signed commitment, automatic termination of the relationship was not an option for them," said Hagelin. "The pastor and school attempted to help the mother better her life, and offered her both financial, spiritual and emotional support."
In Hagelin's interview with the pastor, he described how the role of the school differed somewhat from that of the church. While the church has open arms to all who wish to attend, he discussed how essential parental commitment is to the success of a school of 1,200 students that seeks to provide both high academic and spiritual standards for each and every student, noted Hagelin.
Reporter George Franco of KOVR told Hagelin that the mother has retained legal counsel and is considering filing a motion for an immediate injunction to have the child remain in school while the mother continues to work as a stripper.
Hey, I thought of the hausfrau theory.
You know how you snag a nice cod with a hook, through it's mouth and all? Now, imagine a certain part of the male anatomy is an eel, and now imagine the hook is a ring or a stud and it goes, uh, in the eel's "mouth" and pierces through its, uh, I don't know--"lip"---but it's not really a lip, more like the side of the face.Imagine a catheter insertion gone horribly, horribly wrong. Imagine a keychain thingamabob on the end of a pocket Maglight flashlight.
Religion is not just a 1 hour devotion on Sunday morning where everybody can see you kind of a thing. You don't need the Church to follow the Bible but joining the Church helps you to grow in your bond with Christ and deepen your understanding of Biblical teaching. It creates community.
We all sin and feel unworthy of redemption at some point but we are saved through God's grace (receiving a saving we "don't" deserve because we accept Jesus as our Saviour).
If a Menonite feels that drinking a beer isn't so bad, then maybe he needs to consider another Christian faith that would permit him to do so. I don't see a prohibition on alcohol in the bible (in what I take to be an inappropriate request, Jesus turned water into wine). Drink beer, drink wine, drink liquor if you want; I do. But be aware of how and why you are drinking. If it is an escape and you seem to be drinking to escape more and more then maybe you need to reconsider drinking for awhile.
In the example that you cited, it was unlikely to cause any serious problem; but it violated his faith.
There is even a provision in the Amish tradition that has been making the news in the last couple of years. The teens and young adults are given the opportunity to act out and wander before returning to the fold. This includes using modern devices and drinking and has been reported to include even illicit drug use and sex. These actions would appear to be outside of the Amish tradition but accepted with some framing (it will be given up as they return to the "tradition").
Prehaps you ain't most women. I have known the type of women who would foam over such a thing out of jealousy, even though they themselves were quite attractive and had nothing to be jealous about.
(Scuse me while I whip this out...)
Aplenty what would give you there last dollar.. even with them havin shoes so wore out they could tell a dime was heads or tails when they stepped on it.
You done went past right and run slam in to wrong.
With that said the church still has the freedom to associate with whom they choose. I hope something can be worked out besides a kneejerk law suit.
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