A Christian revival at a West Virginia high school prompts a student walkout

[Green Man]

Students in a West Virginia city have staged a walkout to protest a Christian assembly they were forced to attend during school hours on Feb. 9.

By Nicole Werbeck
Associated Press

https://www.npr.org/live-updates/ukraine-russia-conflict-updates#a-christian-revival-at-a-west-virginia-high-school-prompts-a-student-walkout

More than 100 Huntington High School students left their homerooms on a Wednesday morning to demonstrate against a mini-revival in the school's auditorium.

The students participating in the walkout chanted "Separate the church and state" and "My faith, my choice."Students in a West Virginia city have staged a walkout to protest a Christian assembly they were forced to attend during school hours on Feb. 9.

More than 100 Huntington High School students left their homerooms on a Wednesday morning to demonstrate against a mini-revival in the school's auditorium.

The students participating in the walkout chanted "Separate the church and state" and "My faith, my choice."

More than 100 Huntington High School students left their homerooms on a Wednesday morning to demonstrate against a mini-revival in the school's auditorium. Students in a West Virginia city have staged a walkout to protest a Christian assembly they were forced to attend during school hours on Feb. 9.

More than 100 Huntington High School students left their homerooms on a Wednesday morning to demonstrate against a mini-revival in the school's auditorium.

The students participating in the walkout chanted "Separate the church and state" and "My faith, my choice."

Cabell County Schools spokesperson Jedd Flowers says the event, organized by the school's chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, was supposed to be voluntary, but two teachers mistakenly brought their entire class.


Officials say it won't happen again. But some in the city say even voluntary church services have no place in school.

[Off-Grid Organics]

A brief span of life allows stupid decisions and rejecting our Creator. That all stops one day.

Rev 6:15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
Rev 6:16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
Rev 6:17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

[Bezukhov]

A brief span of life allows stupid decisions and rejecting our Creator. That all stops one day.

Rev 6:15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
Rev 6:16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
Rev 6:17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Yes, stupid decisions. "...a Christian assembly they were forced to attend during school hours on Feb. 9." Forcing students to attend was a stupid decision.

[Green Man]

Families are suing a West Virginia school district for holding a Christian assembly

• February 18, 20227:32 AM ET

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

https://www.npr.org/2022/02/18/10816...sembly-lawsuit

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A group of parents and students are suing a West Virginia school district for allowing an evangelical preacher to hold a religious revival assembly during the school day earlier this month that some students were required to attend.

The suit, filed in a U.S. District Court in West Virginia on Thursday on behalf of families by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, says the Cabell County school system in the southwestern part of the state has a systematic history of disregarding the religious freedom of its students and instituting Christian religious practices.

"For years, school system employees have violated the constitutional rights of students by promoting and advancing the Christian religion, as well as by coercing students into participating in Christian religious activity," the suit reads. The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a nonprofit that promotes the separation of church and state.

The suit follows a walkout at Huntington High School last week where more than 100 students left their classrooms chanting, "Separate the church and state," and, "My faith, my choice."

What happened at the assembly

The Associated Press left a voicemail with Cabell County Schools spokesperson Jedd Flowers requesting comment Thursday afternoon. During an interview with The Associated Press earlier this month, Flowers said the assembly was supposed to be voluntary, but two teachers brought their entire classes to the assembly. Flowers called it an honest mistake by the teachers.

"It's unfortunate that it happened," Flowers said. "We don't believe it will ever happen again."

In a statement on Friday, Cabell County Schools Superintendent Ryan Saxe said the district is investigating the revival event and that he believes some students' rights have been violated. Saxe is named in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit says that on Feb. 2, two Huntington High School teachers escorted their entire homeroom classes to an assembly hosted by evangelical preacher Nik Walker, who had been leading revivals in the Huntington area in recent weeks.

Students, including a Jewish student who asked to leave but was not permitted to do so, were instructed to close their eyes and raise their arms in prayer, according to the lawsuit. The teens were asked to give their lives over to Jesus to find purpose and salvation. Students said they were told that those who did not follow the Bible would go to "face eternal torment."

The mother of the Jewish student who was forced to attend the assembly is among the suit's plaintiffs, along with the Huntington High student who organized last week's walkout.

During the assemblies, students and their families were encouraged to join evening services at a nearby church, where they could be baptized.

[Bezukhov]

Greenman, would you put it past some of the more zealous types to deny a student a diploma if they can't show a baptismal certificate?

[Green Man]

Surely they would never go that far.