Pulse Student Ministries
Making disciples who make disciples.

We will have our Mission Trip Commissioning Service on Wednesday, June 4 in the youth room.  We need to have all those attending this year’s trip come and attend.  We’ll start at 7:00.  We will also have last minute info and hopefully be able to get you the last minute answers to your questions.  Please bring your notarized forms as well as the balance of your money.

Join us for a day of Yard Sales.  Meet at the church at 8:00.  See Clint & Alyson Dowda for more details.

The 2008 Mission Trip is not all that far away.  You should pick up your trip packet from Tom ASAP.  It contains all the information you will need to get ready for the trip.  You will find your instructions for raising the remaining money you are responsible for as well as info to get ready for the trip.

You will see links on the left side of the page for forms.  Everything you need is contained there.  Be sure to download them as they are not contained in the packet.  Students need the Student form, a BCC liability form, and a Code of Conduct Form.  Adults need the Adult form, a BCC liability, and a Code of Conduct Form.  You might also download the itinerary and the rough packing list as well.

Your packet will contain your stocks that you will sell to help raise money for your trip.  Each stock is valued at $25 and you will need to sell 10 and collect a total of $250.  That is in addition to the $100 deposit that some of you still haven’t paid.  You may use your Spud Bar money if you participated to cover some, but you need to let me know of your plan ASAP.  You are responsible for $250 plus your deposit.  You can sell stock to cover the $250 or pay it out of your pocket (essentially buying your own stock).  If you sell $125 worht of stock, then you are responsible for the other $125 out of your pocket.

Good luck!

Hey don’t forget that we’ll leave the church Sunday night at 5:30 and head to Colonial Heights Christian Church for a United worship time.  All the adults are supposed to be there too so there won’t be anything here at the church.  We’ll be back between 8:15 and 8:30.

Here’s an interesting article by The Associated Press that I read today on FoxNews.com. I would like to hear what you think about it. Post them in the comments section below the article.

MADISON, Wis. — A Tomah High School student has filed a federal lawsuit alleging his art teacher censored his drawing because it featured a cross and a biblical reference.

The lawsuit alleges other students were allowed to draw “demonic” images and asks a judge to declare a class policy prohibiting religion in art unconstitutional.

“We hear so much today about tolerance,” said David Cortman, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal advocacy group representing the student. “But where is the tolerance for religious beliefs? The whole purpose of art is to reflect your own personal experience. To tell a student his religious beliefs can legally be censored sends the wrong message.”

Tomah School District Business Manager Greg Gaarder said the district hadn’t seen the lawsuit and declined to comment.

According to the lawsuit, the student’s art teacher asked his class in February to draw landscapes. The student, a senior identified in the lawsuit by the initials A.P., added a cross and the words “John 3:16 A sign of love” in his drawing.

His teacher, Julie Millin, asked him to remove the reference to the Bible, saying students were making remarks about it. He refused, and she gave him a zero on the project.

Millin showed the student a policy for the class that prohibited any violence, blood, sexual connotations or religious beliefs in artwork. The lawsuit claims Millin told the boy he had signed away his constitutional rights when he signed the policy at the beginning of the semester.

The boy tore the policy up in front of Millin, who kicked him out of class. Later that day, assistant principal Cale Jackson told the boy his religious expression infringed on other students’ rights.

Jackson told the boy, his stepfather and his pastor at a meeting a week later that religious expression could be legally censored in class assignments. Millin stated at the meeting the cross in the drawing also infringed on other students’ rights.

The boy received two detentions for tearing up the policy. Jackson referred questions about the lawsuit to Gaarder.

Sometime after that meeting, the boy’s metals teacher rejected his idea to build a chain-mail cross, telling him it was religious and could offend someone, the lawsuit claims. The boy decided in March to shelve plans to make a pin with the words “pray” and “praise” on it because he was afraid he’d get a zero for a grade.

The lawsuit also alleges school officials allow other religious items and artwork to be displayed on campus.

A Buddha and Hindu figurines are on display in a social studies classroom, the lawsuit claims, adding the teacher passionately teaches Hindu principles to students.

In addition, a replica of Michaelangelo’s “The Creation of Man” is displayed at the school’s entrance, a picture of a six-limbed Hindu deity is in the school’s hallway and a drawing of a robed sorcerer hangs on a hallway bulletin board.

Drawings of Medusa, the Grim Reaper with a scythe and a being with a horned head and protruding tongue hang in the art room and demonic masks are displayed in the metals room, the lawsuit alleges.

A.P. suffered unequal treatment because of his religion even though student expression is protected by the First Amendment, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Friday.

“Students do not shed their constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate,” the lawsuit said. “No compelling state interest exists to justify the censorship of A.P.’s religious expression.”

Alright everybody, we have an area Christian Church gathering (that’s where all the churches in the area get together) on April 20th at Colonial Heights Christian Church. That means all the adults will be meeting down there for a gathering and some food. The Student Ministries will also be getting together that night at 6:00 at CHCC for worship and some fun. ChristAudio (who played at the start of the last United event) will lead worship for us that night. Make plans to join us and meet at the church at 5:30. Cost is FREE!

We’re going to be getting some simple T-Shirts for the summer. If you are interested, the cost will be low and these will be different from our black shirts with our Pulse logo. The cost is as follows:

Short Sleeve T-Shirts: $6

Long Sleeve T-Shirts: $10

Sweat Shirts: $14

Hoodies: $18

XXL is $2 extra

If you are interested in ordering a shirt, please sign-up in the youth room on the bulletin board or you can put the info in the comment area. Put your name, size, and style, then list your total cost.

Pulse will be having a Potato Bar fundraiser following the Second Worship time on April 13th. (That’s approximately 12:15). The proceeds will go toward defraying the cost for our students and adults to participate in our summer trips and events. These money can be used for camps, mission trip, or any registration fee for a youth event (it can’t be used for spending money while on the event). All youth who wish to earn money toward those fees need to plan to be there.

Spud Bar Flyer