Tuesday, March 06, 2007

12 Washington State High School Students Suspended for Public Prayer Group

From 12 Washington State High School Students Suspended for Public Prayer Group, by Gudrn Schultz, posted Mar. 6, 2007, by Lifesite.net

VANCOUVER, Washington, March 6, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A number of students who formed an interdenominational prayer group at a Washington state high school were expelled by the administration last week over their refusal to hold a morning prayer session in a closed room, The Columbian reported March 2.

Twelve students at Heritage High School in Vancouver, WA, were suspended last Friday after continuing to meet for morning prayer in the commons area of the school, despite a faculty order that they stop causing physical "disruption" to student traffic with public prayer.

Several students had complained about the quiet prayer circle--one student who objected was described as "pagan."

A student who participated in the prayer group said the point of holding it publicly was to encourage others to join in.

"We're not bothering anybody. If we're not preaching and passing out fliers, why can't we do it?" 16-year-old Megan Gaultier told The Columbian. "Basically, there are just the pagans who are against it." The group included Baptist, Methodist, Roman Catholic and several Russian Orthodox students, Gaultier said.

"If we're in a secluded room, they can't just join in" Gaultier said, as she had done herself. The small group had attracted more participants over the 1-2 week period the students met, The Oregonian reported.

Read the rest of the article.