Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Author Katherine Stewart - The Good News Club

March Event in Ventura County!

The Good News Club: The Christian Right's Stealth Assault on America's Children

Katherine Stewart

Thursday, March 8, at 6:30pm
Oxnard Public Library Community Room
251 S. A Street, Oxnard

In January, 2009, Katherine Stewart learned that the Santa Barbara public elementary school her children attended had added a Bible study class called the “Good News Club” to its afterschool program. Stewart’s curiosity turned to concern as she discovered that the specific yet unstated purpose of the club, which is sponsored by the Child Evangelism Fellowship, is to convey the impression to its young members and their schoolmates that their school favors their particular form of the Christian religion. (From the CEF Website: "the purpose of Good News Club is to evangelize boys and girls with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and establish (disciple) them in the Word of God and in a local church for Christian living.")

She soon learned that the Good News Club—a seemingly spontaneous and voluntary after-school program—was in fact part of a larger, calculated initiative by national advocacy groups whose declared aim is to “take back” America’s public schools and repurpose them with a Fundamentalist Christian agenda.

What happened in Stewart’s community is happening nationwide. At the end of 2010, there were more than 3,500 Good News Clubs operating in public schools across the country, and the number is rapidly increasing.

Come find out more about Katherine's research and book and what this means to the wall of church-state separation in this country! Event attendees are encouraged to purchase and read the book prior to this presentation to participate in the dialogue. (Kindle edition is also available!) Copies will also be available for purchase and signing at the event.

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