Despite division, protests and predatory enticement of minors, Jesus Lunch organizers feed on attention and anger.

I'm mystified by the number of people who don't seem to be concerned about minor children 14 to 17 being approached by adults tempting them with food and a off kilter right wing religious messages. 

Today a protest sign read "Jesus would Compromise," which pretty much says it all. The Jesus Lunch "moms" didn't do this to compromise, they did it to indoctrinate and introduce what Thomas Jefferson was afraid would happen without the separation of church and state - religious intolerance and division.

The scene today with a growing crowd of student protesters is their new Jesus inspired normal:

Jesus Lunch organizer Melissa Helbach. "For as much as some people think it's dividing, other people are saying it's bringing the school together."

What about the funding? A February 8 Wisconsin State Journal story reported:

The Madison Christian Giving Fund aims to help faith-based programs … (said) Scott Haumersen, the fund’s chairman. Mama’s Lunches, which gives free lunches and a gospel message to students across the street from Middleton High School ($5,000). Mama’s Lunches, which gives free lunches and a gospel message to students across the street from Middleton High School ($5,000).

WISC had this coverage:



The lack of action by Middleton High Schools Principle Plank also had a lot to do with it. Zealot infestations like this usually start off small. Parents are now opening up about what they do know, and it paints an ugly picture:

Dear School Board, I learned today that at least some of the parent organizers of the Jesus Lunch were violating the MHS rules as early as 2014 when they hosted unauthorized "brunches" inside the high school on late start days. As a parent of an MHS student, I am frustrated that this occurred, apparently without the knowledge of school staff, and am concerned for my students' safety. 

When I learned of statements made by one of the children of the Jesus Lunch parents during class last fall, specifically "Muslims are like rabid dogs and should be shot." I was even more angry that this has been allowed to go on for so long.

All students deserve to feel safe at school. As parents, we should be able to send our children to public school without the fear that they will be enticed by adults pushing a religious or political agenda in exchange for free food. I am disturbed by my friends' accounts of their children being pressured to attend the lunches by upperclassmen on their sports teams. It's not as simple as "If you don't like it, stay away."

 Another unsettling story is revealed:

My son went to two of these brunches to do a little recon. At one of them, when he was asked to sit down there were already plastic cups with blue liquid in them at each seat. Towards the end of the meal, the women encouraged the students to imagine what life would be like if they woke up with no sense of taste because they had not prayed to God the night before, asking him to allow them to have it. They then told the students to drink the liquid, apparently to simulate the sensation of loss of the sense of taste. My son said he thought the liquid was mouthwash, but the moms refused to identify it. Since the majority of mouthwash contains alcohol, I'm pretty sure they were coercing students into drinking alcohol.

More....

It seems that the JL organizer (Helbach) was in constant contact with the PD asking to have the protesters removed or backed up because she felt threatened. From what I’m hearing she wasn’t the one being assaulted, but it certainly goes nicely with her story of being persecuted.

Students have had enough of the division, from forced inclusion by peers, or vilification of students who are vocal opponents:

Students and adults opposed to the event protested Tuesday, demanding the event be stopped or moved to a different location.

"It's just inappropriate. They should go to a church and in their own time invite students. It shouldn't be this kind of predatory, opportunistic, bribery of big lunches and handing out Bibles and Jesus literature at the same time," Annie-Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom from Religion Foundation, said.

As one story goes, some students needed protection from the their wicked classmates:

Last semester they gave away surgical masks inscribed with the words "This is my Muzzle," citing Psalm of David:  "I will watch my ways and keep my tongue from sin; I will put a muzzle on my mouth while in the presence of the wicked."

You really have to look for this crazy stuff to even think to bring it up. Check out this from Cognitive Dissidence  and the MacIver Institute video which features participant responses.