(Published December 24, 2009, Vancouver Courier)
Everyone knows about the Grinch—the green and ghastly
antihero of Dr. Seuss lore who graces television sets every Christmas season.
He steals Christmas, experiences a spiritual awakening, and
returns to Whoville with his sled full of stolen loot.
In real life, however, metaphysical warm fuzziness often
isn't enough. Consider the situation at Prince of Wales secondary, where the
school's lone Christian club remains banned by school administration.
Brothers and Sisters in Christ (also known as BASIC) holds
true to its acronym title. Once a week a handful of Christian students meet to
sing quietly, play Biblical-themed word games and pray. They meet despite
Prince of Wales principal Jack Bailey, who denies the club official sanction
and the accompanying right to advertise and assemble. Those privileges are
reserved for more stately student organizations such as the Prince of Wales
Yo-Yo Club and, of course, the Environmental Club—an offshoot of the world's
fastest-growing religious movement.
Back in September 2008, then 13-year-old Hannah Lin,
co-leader of BASIC, met with Bailey and was told her club clashed with Prince
of Wales policy. Bibles and prayer, said Bailey, had no place in his hallowed
halls.
So like blacklisted churches in China, BASIC went underground...
sort of.
Banned from advertising in the hallways, the club attracts
members through word of mouth and Facebook. A sympathetic part-time teacher
allows the club infrequent access to a classroom, yet they often congregate in
quiet hallway corners.
Lin, now a 15-year-old Grade 11 student, shrugs her
shoulders at her club's outlaw status.
She doesn't proselytize in school hallways or thump Bibles
during science class. She's a Christian. And she wants to "be"
Christian at home, at school and everywhere else—a right guaranteed under our
Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Fearing controversy, Lin turned down my original interview
request, but after a few days, perhaps inspired by the Christmas season,
reconsidered and we met at a Starbucks near her school.
Lin's not your typical high school subversive. Petite and
soft-spoken, she plays the clarinet, hangs out with her friends and regularly
attends the Chinese Tabernacle Baptist
Church in Mount Pleasant.
Her school club, she says,
helps strengthen her faith. "We pray for each other and that everyone is
having a good week," she says, "and that we can stay strong during
the week and not let the stress of school and other things get us down."
According to Lin, back in 2008 Bailey explained why prayer
is prohibited at Prince of Wales. "We said we don't think it should be a
problem if we meet amongst ourselves," says Lin. "He said our
religious club discriminates against people who aren't comfortable with prayer,
you know, if someone walks into a room when we're praying."
Bailey remembers that conversation and stands by his
convictions—yet misses the point entirely. "I don't believe in a public
school we should try to promote a particular religion," he says, ignoring
BASIC's meek mission of fellowship among the faithful. "And I don't
believe public school settings should be the place for prayer."
Due to the lack of coherent Vancouver School Board policy
regarding religious clubs, Bailey is free to make that call. Nevertheless, when
gaping holes exist in pubic policy, common sense usually steps in.
At other Vancouver
secondary schools, Christian clubs operate freely, blessed with sanction from
the principal's office. At University Hill, they advertise in the daily
bulletin and invite guest speakers to the school. At Killarney they meet in a
classroom and make announcements over the PA system. At David Thompson
secondary, the Christian club appears on the school website along with other
clubs such as Challenge Homophobia At Thompson (CHAT) and the Sewing Club. The
club's mission statement should be studied and digested by any school
administrator fearful of Christianity's creeping vines. "David Thompson
Fellowship is a Christian Club," it reads, "whose mission is to
encourage and support Christian students in their faith. DTF provides a place
for teens to bond with each other as they each grow physically and
spiritually."
Back at Prince of Wales, Bailey was surprised to learn that
BASIC still exists and that club members pray in his hallways, yet refused to
speculate on the club's future. "I don't know where they're doing it or
how they're doing it—no teacher's reported that to me."
Thank God for that.
And so, during this festive season, let us pray—if you're so
inclined—for Jack Bailey, the Grinchy principal of Prince of Wales secondary.
That his heart may swell with the spirit of Christmas and make room for all the
Whos in Whoville.
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