There’s Something Odd About Voting in a Church
This well-crafted op-ed appeared in the Sunday, November 27 edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. It was written by Gray Fuller, a senior at John Burroughs School. The link is here.
You Should Read “American Crusade”
Church/state lawyer Andrew Seidel has a new book out, “American Crusade: How The Supreme Court is Weaponizing Religious Freedom”. Mr. Se
idel explains in detail, with deep understanding and numerous examples, the dangerous perversion of the First Amendment that SCOTUS has promulgated. The thesis of the book is identical to the AU viewpoint, and will give you all the talking points you will need for your next cocktail party arguments.
I learned about the book because of the “Opening Arguments” podcast, an enthusiasm that I recently learned that I share with AU President Rachel Laser. The 11/1 episode that includes an interview with Mr. Seidel is linked here.
Annual Picnic on October 23 Featured Judge Mike Wolff
The picnic was at Deer Creek Park (also known as Rocket Park) – North Pavilion, in Maplewood. We provided sandwiches, beverages, and dessert to a good crowd.
Mr. Wolff was on the faculty at St. Louis University for 23 years before he was appointed to the Missouri Supreme Court, where he served from 1998 to 2011, and Chief Justice from 2005 to 2007. After his stint on the Supreme Court, he returned to SLU and was Dean of the Law School until 2017., and still has an Emeritus appointment. He has spoken to us before, and is always an engaging speaker.
E. J. Dione Describes Flaws in Supremes Decision on Football Prayer
E. J. Dionne, Jr., Washington Post columnist and Professor of Government at Georgetown University, published an inciteful commentary on the Supreme Court decision in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District. Click here to link to the column, which appeared on August 3.
Board Member Letter to the Editor 7/13/22
Another of our Board members, Ed Wright, also wrote to the Post-Dispatch Editor about the recent Supreme Court decision about school-sponsored pray
er:
“Regarding the letter ‘Supreme court fumbled football coach’s prayer ruling’ (July 4): When I read about the U. S. Supreme Court’s decision allowing a public high school football coach to pray at the 50 yard line after games, I wondered if the six conservative justices had completely forgotten their days in middle and high school when the goal of students each day is to avoid being embarrassed, humiliated, singled out or bullied.
What the court has now allowed is nothing more than bullying – Christian bullying. It is clear from testimony by students and professional football players that the pressure to follow along with the coach was not subtle at all. this not a case of a coach’s free speech or religious rights but of inappropriate coercion by a public school authority figure.
We are not a Christian nation. We are a nation of Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, agnostic, atheists, humanists, etc. We are strong because of our diversity and our support of diversity. However, this ruling is one more frightening step by the Supreme Court in its campaign on behalf of Christian nationalism.”
Ed Wright
Brentwood
Board Member Post-Dispatch Letter to the Editor 7/5/22
Our long-time Board member, Rev. Rudy Pulido had the following letter published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch today, July 5, 2022:
Regarding “Supreme Court backs coach in praying on field after games” (July 27): Amid all the recent U. S. Supreme Court decisions, giving Washington state coach Joseph Kennedy the right to pray at the 50-yard line after a high school football game was wrong. A school district and lower courts understood the First Amendment better than the Supreme Court. Government has no place supporting an employee’s religious practice on government property. I believe Kennedy has a poor understanding of his faith Jesus indicated prayer was best practiced in a closet, not in public venues like a 50-yard line.
Rev. Rudy Pulido, St. Louis County
Earth Day 2022 in St. Louis April 23 and 24
April 23 and 24 was Earth Day at Forest Park in St. Louis. AU was there with an informational booth manned by Board members and volunteers on both days. The first day was warm and windy and the second was still warmish but not especially dry. A good crowd of people and dogs were there, just like old times. Many old and new friends dropped by to talk about church/state issues and to pick up literature. Volunteer Dave Eschmann and Board members Carol Bartell and and Hal Harris are in the picture.
Annual Meeting 4/21 Featured MO Legislature Update
The April 21, 7:00pm Annual Meeting was virtual and featured Rev. Dr. Brian Kaylor, who will be updating us on the bills in the Missouri Legislature that impinge on church/state issues. Most of the critical bills are listed in the post two below this one.
Ann Lemons Pollack is gone
Our dear friend and Board member, Ann Lemons Pollack, died April 13 as a result of complications from a fall in her Clayton home. She had been both a stalwart and an entertaining member of our Board for many years, and was a critic of theater and restaurants for several St. Louis publications, including the Post-Dispatch. Joe Holleman had a nice article about her life, which is linked here.
Barry Lynn Talk on March 16
At 7:00 CST on March 16, AU’s long-time (1992-2017) Executive Director had a Zoom dialog with our chapter. It was a pleasure to see our old friend and to hear his views on the present state of church/state relationships and current supreme court cases.