Graduation at Elmbrook Church

Unlike New Berlin Eisenhower, the high school graduation ceremonies of Brookfield Central and Brookfield East will be held at the venue as originally planned.

They stood their ground against Americans United for Separation of Church and State and it paid off.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Brookfield Central and East high schools can hold their upcoming graduation ceremonies in a nearby megachurch, as they have been doing for nearly a decade, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Charles Clevert delivered his decision following a three-hour hearing last week on a request by a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group to bar the church graduation as an unconstitutional violation of the divide between church and government activities.

"A ceremony in a church does not necessarily constitute a church ceremony," Clevert said from the bench.

In his ruling, Clevert rejected the comparison between holding a secular graduation ceremony in a church with a graduation ceremony that includes a prayer, which the U.S. Supreme Court has held unconstitutional.

He said most people would not view the Elmbrook School District's decision to hold its graduation at Elmbrook Church as an endorsement of the church's beliefs and that any offense suffered by unwilling attendees doesn't amount to a constitutional violation.

Alex Luchenitser, senior litigation counsel for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which filed the lawsuit against the Elmbrook district in late April, said the organization was "definitely deeply disappointed" with the ruling.

The group filed the lawsuit on behalf of nine unnamed current and former students, parents and taxpayers in the district.

Tuesday's court's ruling was only on a request for a preliminary injunction, and Clevert has yet to rule on the group's request for declaratory judgment and damages in the lawsuit. Luchenitser said his group would likely appeal any rulings against it on the other issues.

"We strongly believe this practice is a clear violation of church and state," he said. "We're optimistic that, at least in the long run, that the higher courts will agree with us and hold this to be a constitutional violation."

Now Judge Clevert's decision was only on a request for a preliminary injunction. The case is not settled.

However, what is settled is that the Class of 2009 graduates of Brookfield Central and East will have their commencement ceremonies at Elmbrook Church.

Judge Clevert said it very succinctly: "A ceremony in a church does not necessarily constitute a church ceremony."

Exactly.

Churches are used for public, non-religious activities all the time.

They are the sites of community meetings and political forums. Some are used as polling places.

Elmbrook Church is merely the facility where the ceremony is to take place. It's a building being used for graduation. No religious service would be performed or forced on anyone attending.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State believes that holding the ceremony at Elmbrook Church is a "clear violation of church and state."

I couldn't disagree more.

Congratulations to the graduates of Brookfield Central and Brookfield East!

_____________________

Read the press release from Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

AU filed Does v. Elmbrook Joint Common School District No. 21 on behalf of a graduating senior and several families in the district on Apr. 22. The plaintiffs, who have remained anonymous with the court’s approval, were extremely uncomfortable attending graduation at the church, given its religion-permeated environment.

At previous Elmbrook Church graduation ceremonies, graduating seniors received their diplomas in the church’s sanctuary on a dais beneath an immense cross, which is nearly 20 feet tall and 10 feet wide. On their way into the sanctuary, students had to pass religious displays and symbols in the church’s lobby and passageways, such as portraits of Jesus and quotations from the Bible. Bibles and hymnals lined the pews where parents and students had to sit.

In addition, plaintiffs felt unwelcome at the church because it teaches that non-Christians like the plaintiffs – and even some denominations of Christians – will suffer eternal torment in Hell. The church also says homosexuality is “not an acceptable lifestyle” and is “contrary to God’s will” and attacks atheists as people “who think they are smarter than God.”

The church’s Web site even condemns TV talk show host Oprah Winfrey for promoting “a spirituality that is at fundamental odds with the historical biblical faith.”

“Graduation should be a joyous occasion for all students and their families,” said AU Senior Litigation Counsel Alex J. Luchenitser, who argued the suit before Judge Clevert on May 29. “We’re disappointed that students in these schools will have to submit to a religious environment, where they continuously face an enormous Christian cross, as the price of attending their own graduations.”

Added Luchenitser, “We will continue our fight to stop schools from forcing students to go to church in order to graduate with their classmates. We are optimistic that higher courts will declare this practice unconstitutional in the future.”

I don't get why Oprah Winfrey is included in the press release.

How utterly irrelevant!