Mom Banned From Praying Outside High School Because She Is Creeping Everyone Out

A mom who has been praying on the steps of a New Hampshire high school for the past several months will no longer be allowed to commune with God on school property. A complaint by a national group that advocates for separation of church and state has put a stop to her daily ritual.

From The Standard Examiner:

Lizarda Urena, the mother of two students, began praying on the steps outside the high school auditorium of Concord High School every morning after two bullets were found in a school toilet in February. She would spend about 15 minutes reading Bible verses and calling out prayers for the safety of the students.

After the Concord Monitor wrote a story about Urena in mid-May, a local resident contacted the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Madison, Wis. group that promotes the separation of church and state, to express concern about Urena’s actions.

I don’t really have a problem with her praying on the steps of the school. My children are going to have to eventually learn how to avoid Jehovah’s Witnesses and other religious people that approach them in public. I like to embrace the opportunity for a teaching moment whenever possible.

I don’t get this behavior. Isn’t God supposed to be all-knowing and everywhere? I’m not religious, but I think that’s how it works. Isn’t praying at home going to accomplish the same thing as praying on the steps of the school?

The Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a letter to the school superintendent, who decided the district would tell Urena that she was no longer welcome to pray on school grounds. Urena says she will pray at home or at the gas station across the street instead.

Pastor David Pinckney of the River of Grace Church in Concord called the decision to stop Urena from praying ”absurd,” because she is not harming anyone.

”˜”˜Who is being hurt by a mom praying on the school step? Who?” he asked.

Maybe – just maybe – her kids? I can’t speak for anyone else, but as a high school student, if my mom kneeled on the steps of my school to pray everyday I would have been horrified. No one would have had to notify a national advocacy group because I would have dragged her from the steps myself.

(photo: Sign N Symbol Production/ Shutterstock)