OK, this has got to be one of the weirdest stories I've read in a while.
Apparently, a Southern California woman who is a counselor for foster kids was suspended after four teen girls who were on an approved outing with her overheard Christian music at the beach.
Seriously, the world has gone crazy.
The woman, who, according to a press release from Pacific Justice Institute, had almost 20 years of experience, took four girls for a 5K run and then stopped at the beach. While eating lunch there, they were exposed to the music from a beach fest called Surf Jam at the Huntington Beach Pier.
When they got back from the field trip, the counselor was ordered into a disciplinary meeting and when the incident was reviewed months later, was suspended for six weeks for "exposing children to unapproved religious activities."
You're kidding me, right? She was suspended for that? She has filed a lawsuit against Orange County to "recover the financial losses she suffered from the suspension and to vindicate her constitutional rights." Good for her.
The incident and event took place in 2006, so I did a little searching for Surf Jam to see what, exactly, the festival entailed. According to the Surf Jam website, the event was "a mix of top professional surfers, celebrities from the world of stage and screen, and Surfrider Foundation activists from across the country, to surf and compete with one another, all in an effort to help raise awareness and support for our nation's beach and coastal environments."
What the kids probably heard was Switchfoot, who is listed on the list of athletes/celebrities attending. The guys are really into surfing so I can why they'd be there. I don't know if the band played live, or if the event just played the band's music over loudspeakersm or if that's even what they heard. Sure, the guys in Switchfoot are Christians. But also on the list was Incubus. This was clearly not a Christian event, or an evangelistic event. Besides, Switchfoot is a very mainstream act.
What if she's taken them shopping and they'd been in store and heard Carrie Underwood's "Jesus Take The Wheel"? Would that also have been an unapproved religious activity worthy of suspension? GIve me a break.
You can read more about this at the Pacific Justice Institute's website. The Pacific Justice Institute is a non-profit 501(c)(3) legal defense organization specializing in the defense of religious freedom, parental rights, and other civil liberties. The organization works free of charge.
Get the Gospel Soundcheck headlines delivered daily to your email inbox. Just sign up for the RSS feed by going to the "Subscribe" box on the right hand side of this blog and entering your email address.
RELATED POSTS
Switchfoot's Jon Foreman and Nickle Creek's Sean Watkins form Fiction Family
Further Thoughts on Jon Foreman's "Summer"
Gospel Soundcheck posts about Switchfoot
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Add to Facebook
Add to StumbleUpon
Subscribe
Thanks for this eye-opening article. I hope you continue to follow this story and let us know the outcome. What is this world coming to? This is what happens when good people do NOTHING, as the saying goes. Keep us posted! ~Kathy
That's insane. Just one more incident of silencing Christians. God save us... things are looking more and more like the "Left Behind" series.
This is laughable, I mean seriously, what is this world coming to?
Thanks for another fab post; big fan over here all the way from London, England :-)
Sbeditor - Thanks so much for the kinds words! I wonder sometimes if people are really reading, LOL!
Tell me, what's the Christian music scene like over there? :)
All the best
Joanne
host of the GS blog
The county's going to have a hard time explaining that one, particularly since the Orange County SSA Foster Parent and Adoption's own website has a FEATURED film promoting foster care to Christian organizations called Faith in Motion!
Watch it here: http://oc4kidsscreeningroom.com/web/Video/Faith-In-Motion/Faith-In-Motion.html
Social Service agencies rely explicitly, and in many cases, almost totally, on Christians to provide stable homes. Eliminate Christian participation from foster care, and the system wouldn't just suffer, it would collapse.
Post a Comment
By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.