The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Freedom of religious expression is an important American right, but public schools often grapple over how to implement that freedom while not endorsing a religion.

According to some local Christian students, however, Sisters High School is a welcoming environment.

Lena Womack, a senior at Sisters High School who has organized on-campus prayer groups and Bible studies, said she finds much support from staff and sometimes from students.

"The people in charge love the Lord," Womack said. "So they tell me what I can and can't do. I can't get up on stage and preach. I can't name teachers, but teachers have come along side of me and prayed with me."

Principal Bob Macauley said 120 students, or 25 percent of the 455-student population, attend a Christian youth group.

Philip McDaniel, a junior at Sisters High School, said class discussions sometimes allow for students to talk openly about their faith. Even evolution, he said, was only presented as one theory in his class.

"In science class, they don't really focus on the earth being one million years old," McDaniel said. "They give you the textbook stuff, but leave it open for whatever you believe. In health class, we did a project on death and grieving and a lot of times we bring up the topic of life after death and everyone has their own opinion."

Macauley said the topic of Creation and evolution opens the gates for a healthy debate.

"If you want to see kids discuss something and see academics fly, then tell students they need to have a Creation/evolution debate," Macauley said. "I would welcome it."

Macauley said he did receive one complaint from a member of the community this year in regard to religious expression in the school.

"She was upset we had a Bible group and asked if we could have a Buddhist study," Macauley said. "I said, if there was an advisor, we would provide a room for them. If people misunderstand the law or think one faith is being promoted unjustly, it is a legitimate concern and we take one concern at a time."

The Bible group was a student-led gathering of about 25 students who met during their lunch hour last year and at the beginning of this school year to study the Bible.

The school also permits two members of Young Life, a non-denominational Christian youth ministry, to visit campus during lunch time. Macauley said the representatives are not permitted to proselytize or invite students to Young Life meetings.

"We try to have healthy mentoring relationships on campus," Macauley said. "The parents have rights to expect kids not to be proselytized on campus and that is a reasonable right."

He also said, according to the federal and state laws, if a student asks a teacher or staff person about their religious beliefs, the teacher has the right to answer the question.

"But if a student asked me, I would say, you can ask me later and not answer in front of other kids," Macauley said.

Macauley said, however, that students are free to proselytize each other and free to organize on-campus prayer groups.

At school, Womack said she has approached lunch tables and introduced herself as a Christian.

"I went to the lunch tables and said, 'Hi, my name is Lena. I'm a Christian. If there is anything I can do for you, whether it's driving you to lunch or buying you lunch or praying for you, know that I'm here," ' Womack told The Nugget. "One table laughed at me and I just smiled and shrugged. I found it amusing. I was like, 'Cool! I got knocked down, awesome.' Then, the next table was very encouraging so it balanced out. A week later, a couple of the students came and asked me to pray for them."

But often, opportunities to share their faith come in day- to-day conversation with friends, said Womack and McDaniel.

"Whenever someone brings up the topic of God or Creation, I try to put in my two cents," McDaniel said. "They listen to me, but sometimes they try to challenge me and find fault in my faith and I try to explain it to them."

Overall, Womack and McDaniel agree Sisters High School is a good place to express personal beliefs.