NEWS

Licking Valley gets third Freedom From Religion letter

Hannah Sparling
hsparling@newarkadvocate.com
  • Licking Valley has received three letters from the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
  • The latest letter objects to an elementary school assembly put on the by the Jubilee Gang.

A copy of the letter.

HANOVER – After a month of silence, the Freedom From Religion Foundation is directing more scrutiny toward Licking Valley Local Schools.

The foundation sent Superintendent Dave Hile a letter on Halloween, objecting to a "troubling report" regarding an elementary school assembly. The letter references a September assembly put on by the Jubilee Gang.

"Jubilee Gang's entire purpose and reason for being is to bring children to Christianity," the letter stated. "It's hard to see any 'secular' programming this organization could provide to public schools that would be presented without an ulterior motive."

The assembly in question was Sept. 12, for students in grades three through five, said Sherry Crum, Licking Valley Intermediate School principal. It was a kick-off assembly for the school's Renaissance Program, which rewards students for meeting certain behavioral and academic goals.

The intermediate school's theme this year was "Be all you can be," which tied right in with what Jubilee Gang teaches, Crum said.

It was essentially a "character education" assembly, she said: "It was all based on goal setting, being a leader, making good choices, because other people are following your lead; how to persevere when you don't reach your goal the first time; how to try again."

Jubilee Gang is a "fast paced multi media ministry" for children and families, according to its website. The Gang's mission is to see as many as possible make a decision to follow Jesus, "To stir up believers to be all they can be for God, Reach out to the world around them with the Good news of the Gospel, & to develop the Character of Jesus in their lives."

Jubilee Gang references the Licking Valley assembly in its blog: "In Newark, Ohio we did a public school assembly and were (privileged) to encourage over 350 children to be all they can be in life," the blog states. "Then, we did a sunday morning at More Life Church (in Newark) and had 7 children come forward to be born again."

The foundation is a Wisconsin-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting nontheism and the separation of church and government.

The group's saga with Licking Valley started Sept. 23, when the foundation sent a letter denouncing the marching band's "Salvation" T-shirts. The shirts are are black with the word "Salvation" in white, a reference to Pavel Tchesnokov's "Salvation is Created," the band's focal piece this year.

Then on Sept. 30, the district got a second letter, this one alleging high school football coach Randy Baughman might have participated in a student-led prayer.

The second letter sparked a wave of community activism, with residents making T-shirts stating, "WE ARE LV, WE PRAY Salvation," and hundreds gathering after the Oct. 10 football game for a community prayer.

In its latest letter, the foundation took particular issue with the age of the students in question, implying they might be more impressionable than their older counterparts.

The letter also argues that, regardless the official topic of the assembly, inviting an evangelical Christian group into the school gives the impression that Licking Valley endorses the Christian group's message.

On its website, Jubilee Gang claims to be "very entertaining but 100% percent about ministry."

"It is inappropriate to take away instructional time from students to expose them to a Christian proselytizing group, regardless of any secular message the group claims to be promoting," the foundation letter stated. "Students are a vulnerable and captive audience."

Crum didn't see the letter until The Advocate asked for comment, but when she did, she was shocked, she said.

"Because there was absolutely no intent to bring religion into the school, and there was absolutely no religious basis to the assembly that we had," she said. "I was quite caught off guard."

The letter makes several references to the Jubilee Gang's website, but that has nothing to do with Licking Valley, Crum said.

"They didn't bring that message into my school, so what they put on their website really doesn't have anything to do with the day-to-day-operation at our school," she said. "They do school programs and they do church programs, and they kept it very appropriate for a public school."

hsparling@newarkadvocate.com

740-328-8822

Twitter: @hksparling