FW: A Sermon on the School Funding Mess

[Sean Obrien <sobrien@columbus.rr.com>]

----------
From: ohioeanda@sbcglobal.net
Reply-To: ohioeanda@sbcglobal.net
Date: Tue, 30 Mar 2004 17:33:55 -0500
To: ohioeanda <ohioeanda@sbcglobal.net>
Subject: A Sermon on the School Funding Mess

To:     Superintendents, Principals, Treasurers and Other Interested Persons

From: William L. Phillis

Re:     A Sermon on the School Funding Mess
Date:  March 30, 2004



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Brian Bagley-Bonner, Pastor of the Newbury United Community Church, recently
presented the sermon that follows to his congregation in Newbury, Ohio. It
will resonate with most who read it.



 

Today after I got the first version of this sermon done I was told about
some of the events of this past week in terms of two competing petitions
being sent around about revising the school levy.  There is talk of a big
confrontation at the courthouse tomorrow.  I hope I don¹t offend anyone with
this sermon, but I cannot remain silent any longer about what is going on in
Newbury. 

I have watched as this community has become a house divided.  I have seen
empty spots in the pews where dedicated church members usually sit because
they can¹t come to church for fear of facing those on the other side.  I
have seen long time friends become so angry with one another.  I have seen
calm and rational people become hateful.  It has been terrible.

Today, we read about Jesus heading to Jerusalem and we read a letter Paul
wrote from imprisonment in Rome.  It is no mistake that both of them are in
the cities of power for the entire Jewish world and the entire Roman Empire.
Those are the places where decisions are made, the cities where the leaders
are found.  So today I say no matter which side of the school levy debate
you are on, your enemy is not here in Newbury.  It is in Columbus and it is
the honorable Governor, Senators and Representatives in the legislature of
this state. 

They have spent their time, just like the leaders in Jerusalem in Jesus¹
time, worrying about politicking and staying in power.  For almost a decade
since they were told plainly by the Supreme Court of Ohio that our school
funding system was unconstitutional and broken, the leaders of this state
have squandered their time on issues about who can carry concealed weapons
and who can and who can¹t marry who. They have multiplied unfunded mandates
to schools, hospitals and communities.  They have developed Proficiency
Tests that: teachers hate; give students no benefit; and they themselves
could not pass if their life depended on it.

These politically charged issues, important though they may be, are
addressed primarily because they can translate into campaign contributions.
But the fundamental flaws in our school funding have been ignored.  And we
are being asked to sacrifice our children or our senior citizens because of
their failure to act.

Newbury is not alone in this terrible division.  The papers reported the
largest number of school levies on the ballot ever this past election.
There are communities all around this state being divided, being torn apart
because the supposed leaders of the State of Ohio are straining at gnats and
swallowing camels. 

I can no longer stand by and see us being torn apart.  This must stop and it
must stop by addressing the concerns of those on fixed income that cannot
afford to see their property taxes go up.  And it must stop while giving our
children the kind of quality education that includes sports and music and
those things that keep them on the path of growing to be productive and
happy citizens. 

Today we share the table of communion, the table where we remember the power
of God¹s love to overcome hatred and death.  We remember Jesus who in spite
of the temptation to blame those who crucified him, asked God to forgive
them and instead focused on overcoming the real enemy, death itself.  Jesus
welcomes to this table everyone.  Those who worked hard for the passage of
the school levy and those who worked equally hard against it.

I apologize for using this pulpit to espouse my own opinions on this
subject. I am sure they are flawed, but my heart is breaking as I look at
Newbury.  And I know the same thing is happening and will continue to happen
if something is not done.  Let us join together to fix what is wrong.  Let
us seek a just and fair taxation system and let us say to the leaders of
Ohio, "we will not let you destroy the fabric of our communities any
longer."  Let us forgive one another and put our energy toward the real
enemy: political cowardice on the part of our leaders.   AMEN