AuntPol Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 My daughter has been at a dance studio all year. It's a Christian Studio and it's our first year there. Many families from my church do dance there. She did dance and musical theatre. She loved the dance class but ran hot and cold over the musical theatre class because of the director. Â Musical Theatre class performed Seussical the Musical. I got a suspicion the day before the muscial when my daughter had taken off all her silly bands and just had a on a red plastic bracelet that said LIFE. She said her instructer said no jewelry but they could wear that bracelet (and the instructor had given them out). I'm not up on which bracelets stand for what but both my husband and I said not to wear it because we didn't want her advocating for something she didn't even know what it stood for (and neither did we). Â So, we go to the show. It was nice as you can expect from a first year musical theatre class lol. There were issue with the sound department and some of the kids could not sing. But still very enjoyable. Then when it's over, the director comes on. He's also the owner of the studio. He goes into this long speech about abortion!!!! I'm a conservative Christian and very prolife. My husband is not Christian but has been close to coming around lol but he is also very prolife. However, we were both very offended by this. In our opinion, it was very inappropriate. We came to see our child perform in a musical. I knew it was a Christian studio so a prayer and perhaps a short uplifting message about loving your neighbors would not have freaked me out. Abortion is a hot topic issue though and in my opinion not a family friendly topic. My just turned 11 yo was on stage and my 9 yo in audience. There were other younger kids in audience. I have not discussed abortion w/ them yet. I've done body changes with my dd and was planning on sex talks this year. I hadn't planned on abortion discussion to at least 7th or 8th grade. It was not one that we could just slip out. There were only 5 rows of audience there, we were in middle and my daughter was onstage lookiing at us. Â My husband is raving mad. He wants to write the director and tell him off. I told him to calm down and when he writes, point out positives and then point out his concerns, etc in a calmer manner. Â Fortunately, we had the dance recital that afternoon without incident. It was a much bigger audicence. The director came on stage, thanked the kids, introduced the instructers, mentioned summer camps and new classes for next year. He didn't pray or anything. This made me feel better as everyone we knew who recommended the place were in dance only and so perhaps they have never experienced what we experienced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebecca VA Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 Maybe the director is just very passionate about this subject. Sometimes when we have something "on the brain," we see it everywhere (or want to see it everywhere). He may not have carefully considered whether it was appropriate for youngsters to be thinking about abortion. Â I might write him a gentle letter about it. I wouldn't blast him. His heart is in the right place...he just needs to tone down his message. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NanceXToo Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 That is HIGHLY inappropriate!!!!! Even families who are very prolife like yourself would not necessarily want to have a conversation with young children about what abortion is! That had no place at a recital where children were performing and where even younger children were going to be sitting in the audience. It was both irrelevant to and inappropriate for the situation and could put a lot of families in a very awkward position where children would start asking questions afterward that they hadn't planned on covering for years to come. And understandably so! Â I'd be fuming, too, and while my first instinct would be to blast him, too, I do agree with you that he should write the letter from a concise, calm point of view. Â Do you know any of the other parents? What do they think? Can you feel any of them out to see if they agree with you? If so you could add a line about how other parents you spoke with feel the same way so he knows that it isn't just you guys making waves, that several families at least found what he did highly inappropriate and upsetting? Or even get other people to sign the letter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tidbits of Learning Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 The truth is that if it were my family I would have said something right then and there. I would have walked up to him afterward and withdrawn my child and explained why. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 I would be livid. As you said you had children there, ones where you haven't had a discussion about abortion. This was a childrens' performance? Totally not the place/time for such a discussion. Â I would call or write a letter (calmly, professionally) and explain that a childrens' musical is not the appropriate venue for moral/political statements. Â I would also be drilling my child about what else he might have said in class. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 The truth is that if it were my family I would have said something right then and there. I would have walked up to him afterward and withdrawn my child and explained why. Since his second message was much much tamer, I wonder if someone already did say something to him. Â I wouldn't have withdrawn my child over that without letting him explain.. We hear about this topic periodically at church and other places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danestress Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 that I don't want to hear a lecture about with young children. Rape, molestation, abortion, drug abuse, female circumcision, vivisection ..... most of use would not argue that these aren't bad things. But really .... he took it upon himself to have a discussion about this with children present, having no idea how the parents might feel? ick. Â I would encourage your husband to write. I would keep it polite but I would not mince words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnitWit Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 AuntPol, I totally understand your feelings. I think it was inappropriate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetTN Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 The truth is that if it were my family I would have said something right then and there. I would have walked up to him afterward and withdrawn my child and explained why. Â :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SproutMamaK Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 Wow, I'm as pro-life as can be, but that is inappropriate. He's "preaching" to people who are either too young to understand (but now will be asking questions they may not be ready for, TYVM director), or people who likely agree with him. So what exactly was he hoping to accomplish? It's up to the parents to decide when to discuss this topic with their children, not him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SailorMom Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 I'm prolife as well, but didn't explain abortion to my sons until they approached me after seeing someone on the street holding a very inapppropriate, gruesome, prolife sign. I was angry, to say the least. They were in 5th and 6th grade and I still feel that is too young to find out about such a harsh reality. To me, that sort of expression of opinion - and the sermon in this thread, give us pro-lifers a bad name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 Wow, I'm as pro-life as can be, but that is inappropriate. He's "preaching" to people who are either too young to understand (but now will be asking questions they may not be ready for, TYVM director), or people who likely agree with him. So what exactly was he hoping to accomplish? It's up to the parents to decide when to discuss this topic with their children, not him. Â :iagree::iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lllll Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mejane Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 The truth is that if it were my family I would have said something right then and there. I would have walked up to him afterward and withdrawn my child and explained why. Â Â This. Exactly. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 That was inappropriate. Sheesh. It wasn't inappropriate because some people in the audience might not agree that abortion is a bad thing. It isn't even inappropriate because some of the children might not yet know what abortion means. It was just the wrong time and place to be doing that. It was a performing arts recital. The end. Â I, too, would have said something afterwards instead of waiting and writing a letter or whatever. Not sure I'd withdraw my dc, though, if I were satisfied with my dc's progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 Very poor manners to interject politics in a situation manifestly not political. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatCyndiGirl Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 Watch the movie Jesus Camp and you will understand what the red "LIFE" bracelets were all about. It is all part of a Call To Arms movement with a LOT of war rhetoric and it is aimed DIRECTLY AT CHILDREN!! Â There IS a reason he did it in front of your kids! Please educate yourself in the ways in which this group/the director wishes to indoctrinate your children and their peers! It is DISGUSTING!! Â If you are on Netflix, Jesus Camp is available for Instant Viewing. Â To say that his abortion sermon was inappropriate is a vast understatement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlebug42 Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 I had a similar problem last year. I took my kids to a science fair put on by our K12 virtual academy. It was for K-6 students. My dds and I are looking through the exhibits and I came upon one that had the premise that most people don't know what actually happens during an abortion. It was complete with very graphic pictures. Fortunately, I saw it before my kids did particularly my very sensitive dd8. I was livid. I came home and drafted an email to the principal of the school. Turns out that the girl presenting it was only in 4th grade. I was not the only one who complained and tighter controls will apparently be in place next year. Â I would personally be very cautious about that dance school. It may not be the last time something like this happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simka2 Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 I agree that this was in bad taste. I'm not entirely pro-life...but I do believe in graciousness. Â First I would take stock of the fallout. Am I haveing to do damage control with the kids? Is there a loss of innocence? Â If not, and this is an opportunity for great disussion with my kids about the appropriatness of these types of speeches with a trapped aduience, then no loss. Â On the other hand, if my children were upset...I would call him. Â Also, I would have to address the red bracelet!!!! No one puts a religious article on my child with out my express permission!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Atl Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 It's a dance studio! What is wrong with people? :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iammommy Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 Totally inappropriate. Both the content and the timing. And how dare they give those red bands to children without parent's permission? I would immediately withdraw my child, as I'd be VERY worried about other "messages" being sent to the children during the year. Â Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 For those of you who are Christian, have you read Mathew Chapter 2 vs. 13-18 and discussed this with them? Â "13When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him." 14So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."[a] 16When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: 18"A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."[b]" Â I see a discussion of being pro-life/anti-abortion no more harmful to children than this passage from the bible. This is a Christian organization and they do have a right to preach the truth. I would have no problem with my children being there. Â With that said you do have the right to not be a part of that organizatin if you do not agree with what they preach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 I am pro-life and still find it very objectionable. I have a lot of other opinions about both public issues and moral stands and even if a person is saying anything about any of them, even if not graphic, I don't think the place is at a performance recital. It just is an inappropriate place and time for that. The same would go if the organizer got up and started to talk about lowering taxes or changing immigration laws or believer versus infant baptism. Just not the place. This is something I have had to keep mentioning to my students in US Government and Economics. They had such a hard time understanding that I wanted a research paper, not a persuasive essay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 With that said you do have the right to not be a part of that organizatin if you do not agree with what they preach. Â I think the issue is that the OP had no idea that the dance studio was "preaching" anything. I certainly wouldn't expect preaching from a dance studio, even a Christian dance studio. Â If a dance studio identified itself as Christian, I would expect no classes or performances on Sunday, possibly a prayer at the beginning of the class or recital, and hopefully choreography that wasn't sexualized and music with clean lyrics. Â I don't expect preaching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lllll Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 I don't know many people more prolife than me. Â And this is why I often avoid Christian businesses. They don't know how to be professional. The red flag for me is when I hear the business or instructor use terms like, "I love how we can use blank to bring the word of God to these kids!" or "I view my teaching as a mission." Â I am paying for dance lessons. I am not paying for them to preach to my kid or use my kid as their witness tool or source of forced volunteers. Â My kids know about abortion. Â But frankly I'm sick of the unprofessional crap. Â Could they just teach the dance class please tyvm?! Â Could we just enjoy the performance, clap politely and chitchat over punch before going home? Â Just once I'd like to get what I paid for without the trite sermons that waste my time while little dc grow impatient in the seat next to me. Â Sadly in my area, going to a nonchristian place isn't much better. They just have other social things to preach about. Â I know this is terribly unPC of me, but it's how I feel. Especially now that I have had 6 dc in extracurriculiars for the past year. That's a lot of lecturing and requests for charitable donations and volunteering when all I'm interested in signing up for is the lessons!!! Â End of soapbox and mild rant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisy Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 I don't know many people more prolife than me. Â And this is why I often avoid Christian businesses. They don't know how to be professional. The red flag for me is when I hear the business or instructor use terms like, "I love how we can use blank to bring the word of God to these kids!" or "I view my teaching as a mission." Â I am paying for dance lessons. I am not paying for them to preach to my kid or use my kid as their witness tool or source of forced volunteers. Â My kids know about abortion. Â But frankly I'm sick of the unprofessional crap. Â Could they just teach the dance class please tyvm?! Â Could we just enjoy the performance, clap politely and chitchat over punch before going home? Â Just once I'd like to get what I paid for without the trite sermons that waste my time while little dc grow impatient in the seat next to me. Â Sadly in my area, going to a nonchristian place isn't much better. They just have other social things to preach about. Â I know this is terribly unPC of me, but it's how I feel. Especially now that I have had 6 dc in extracurriculiars for the past year. That's a lot of lecturing and requests for charitable donations and volunteering when all I'm interested in signing up for is the lessons!!! Â End of soapbox and mild rant. Â :iagree: I think, in the Christian community, so many have forgotten that it is JESUS who changes people and not the use of programs, diatribes, social justice, moral crusades, and strong-arm tactics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MeganW Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 This brings back memories. Â When I was a young child (1970s) growing up in a very conservative part of the south, I was one of the few who wasn't strict Southern Baptist or a spinoff. One year, at a HUGE spinoff church, the members went to church on Wednesday night as was their custom. The parents went one direction, and the kids had their own classes and worship. Â Except that, WITHOUT PARENTAL PERMISSION, the children's ministry person loaded all the kids on buses and took them to an abortion protest. I'm sure it was a given that all the parents were prolife. And I'm sure she assumed that police would never arrest kids. She was wrong. Â All those kids got ARRESTED. I can't remember the exact numbers, but I feel like it was 50ish. Â Talk about some livid parents!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mejane Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 I don't know many people more prolife than me. Â Â Â Â Martha, I just want to say that, although we hold different views on this issue, I appreciate your thoughts and agree that both sides need to back off. I would be equally as aggravated if I went to a dance recital and was "treated" to a pro-choice sneak-attack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Atl Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 Martha, I just want to say that, although we hold different views on this issue, I appreciate your thoughts and agree that both sides need to back off. I would be equally as aggravated if I went to a dance recital and was "treated" to a pro-choice sneak-attack. Â Really, any issue outside dance would send me out the door, even if I agreed. It's a dance studio! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyboys Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 Maybe the director is just very passionate about this subject. Sometimes when we have something "on the brain," we see it everywhere (or want to see it everywhere). He may not have carefully considered whether it was appropriate for youngsters to be thinking about abortion. I might write him a gentle letter about it.   Yes, unfortunately an inappropriate choice. You're probably right that's its on his brain at the moment and he happened to have an audience, and put the two together.  Sometimes people get an audience and forget themselves. In a much smaller way than OP's, this happened yesterday to ds after a championship ballgame in the 100o heat and humidity. The league pres. came out to deliver a speech while the kids were lined up in the sun to get trophies. :001_huh::001_huh:  A note pointing out the topic wrt his audience (incl. children) would certainly be appropriate, especially since OP agrees with his stance on this issue. Kwim? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatCyndiGirl Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 This issue, imo is NOT about abortion at all. It is about using children as your sounding board. ("your" being the director) Â It is about taking advantage of a captive audience to get your point across. It is about indoctrinating children into your belief system. (or attemptin to). In my mind it doesn't even matter if the parents agreed on the abortion issue it is about the fact that it was HORRIBLY INAPPROPRIATE to use a dance recital as a time to step on your soapbox AND put the red bands on the kids and attempt to preach to them. Â yuck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Sherry Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 He abused the trust that the parents placed in him when they put their children in his class. If it were me, I would let him know I did not appreciate the betrayal and that I expect him to use better judgment in the future regarding what is appropriate to expose the children to. I think you should let him know that you are considering withdrawing your child, unless there is an agreement not to cross the line again. Â Of course the issue is not whether your family is prolife or not, and it sounds like he was preaching to the choir anyway. He just doesn't know what the appropriate boundaries are. Strange. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganClassicalPrep Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 Wow. I am completely prolife, from the beginning to the end of life. But this would make me angry, and I'd be pulling my daughter out. Abortion should be something discussed with children by parents. I don't want someone else deciding when my daughter is ready to hear it. Â If this was all adults and he used the opportunity to say something (quick!), I probably would just blow it off. Still pretty rude, since not everyone feels the same way, but no big deal. The fact that there were children there, and he is actively using these children as part of the "campaign" really bothers me. Even if I agree with him on this issue, what happens if we disagree on the next? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hannah C. Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 I clearly remember a time when my family stood up and walked out of a church service. We always sat in the front row, so I'm sure it was noticeable. Â The reason? As the oldest I was probably under the age of 11, and the priest had just begun to allude to some sort of child-abuse case. My parents wanted to be safe instead of sorry. My father did explain to the priest afterwards why we had walked out, and the priest, as far as I could tell, was not upset. My parents also explained it to us in a way which we understood and accepted. Â In the case the OP talks about, I think I would have walked out. I would also have spoken to or contacted the person who did it explaining why. I am very very pro-life, and I firmly believe kids that young do not need to know about abortion. Just as my parents believed we did not need to know anything specific about the horrible things adults sometimes do to children. Â Also, a dance recital seems to be a very inappropriate place to present a pro-life speech without warning. Especially when the dancers are young children!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyboys Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 This issue, imo is NOT about abortion at all. Â Yep. We were at a scout banquet when the leader took the opportunity to launch into a similarly inappropriate speech. Â People get an audience and think they've got a forum. Particularly stupid when children are there. :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 If you are on Netflix, Jesus Camp is available for Instant Viewing. You can watch it for free right here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 My daughter has been at a dance studio all year. It's a Christian Studio and it's our first year there. Many families from my church do dance there. Â When I attend a function advertised as Christian or support a business that advertises as Christian, I expect that there will be discussions, opinions, etc. based on the beliefs of those running the function or the business. It is my duty to determine if their beliefs are biblically sound and to determine if that is where I want to spend my time or my childs time. Â In addition if someone Christian, it must affect what they say and how they live. To assume otherwise would be foolish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 In the case the OP talks about, I think I would have walked out. I would also have spoken to or contacted the person who did it explaining why. I am very very pro-life, and I firmly believe kids that young do not need to know about abortion. Â It is fine to make the decision to walk out because you want to shelter your kids. Â It is wrong to attack the person speaking out against murdering babies when the PS start teaching sex ed in Kindergarden and abortion & promiscuity are pushed in sex ed. There are a lot of children in todays society that are having sex well before they reach middle school. How many years do you allow the abortion advocates to lobby the children before you tell them the truth? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Sherry Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 When I attend a function advertised as Christian or support a business that advertises as Christian, I expect that there will be discussions, opinions, etc. based on the beliefs of those running the function or the business. It is my duty to determine if their beliefs are biblically sound and to determine if that is where I want to spend my time or my childs time. In addition if someone Christian, it must affect what they say and how they live. To assume otherwise would be foolish. This is not about him being a christian or not. It is about him using a dance recital as an opportunity to "preach" to an audience, including young children, on a subject not appropriate for their age and not appropriate for the occasion. He abused his position and the trust placed in him by the parents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatCyndiGirl Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 It is fine to make the decision to walk out because you want to shelter your kids. It is wrong to attack the person speaking out against murdering babies when the PS start teaching sex ed in Kindergarden and abortion & promiscuity are pushed in sex ed. There are a lot of children in todays society that are having sex well before they reach middle school. How many years do you allow the abortion advocates to lobby the children before you tell them the truth?   Respectfully, your version of "the truth" is not the same as everyone else's. Fwiw, not all christians agree on this subject. It was NOT the place! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 My daughter has been at a dance studio all year. It's a Christian Studio and it's our first year there. Many families from my church do dance there. She did dance and musical theatre. She loved the dance class but ran hot and cold over the musical theatre class because of the director. Â Musical Theatre class performed Seussical the Musical. I got a suspicion the day before the muscial when my daughter had taken off all her silly bands and just had a on a red plastic bracelet that said LIFE. She said her instructer said no jewelry but they could wear that bracelet (and the instructor had given them out). I'm not up on which bracelets stand for what but both my husband and I said not to wear it because we didn't want her advocating for something she didn't even know what it stood for (and neither did we). Â So, we go to the show. It was nice as you can expect from a first year musical theatre class lol. There were issue with the sound department and some of the kids could not sing. But still very enjoyable. Then when it's over, the director comes on. He's also the owner of the studio. He goes into this long speech about abortion!!!! I'm a conservative Christian and very prolife. My husband is not Christian but has been close to coming around lol but he is also very prolife. However, we were both very offended by this. In our opinion, it was very inappropriate. We came to see our child perform in a musical. I knew it was a Christian studio so a prayer and perhaps a short uplifting message about loving your neighbors would not have freaked me out. Abortion is a hot topic issue though and in my opinion not a family friendly topic. My just turned 11 yo was on stage and my 9 yo in audience. There were other younger kids in audience. I have not discussed abortion w/ them yet. I've done body changes with my dd and was planning on sex talks this year. I hadn't planned on abortion discussion to at least 7th or 8th grade. It was not one that we could just slip out. There were only 5 rows of audience there, we were in middle and my daughter was onstage lookiing at us. Â My husband is raving mad. He wants to write the director and tell him off. I told him to calm down and when he writes, point out positives and then point out his concerns, etc in a calmer manner. Â Fortunately, we had the dance recital that afternoon without incident. It was a much bigger audicence. The director came on stage, thanked the kids, introduced the instructers, mentioned summer camps and new classes for next year. He didn't pray or anything. This made me feel better as everyone we knew who recommended the place were in dance only and so perhaps they have never experienced what we experienced. Â I agree: it was totally out of place. I would be very angry if someone brought up abortion before I had told my children about it. We did the talk on sex very early, but I didn't tell them about abortion until late elementary school. I would have been angry. Â Though I am prolife, I also think that even if all teens and adults were in attendance, that the speech was out-of-place and weird. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 I clearly remember a time when my family stood up and walked out of a church service. We always sat in the front row, so I'm sure it was noticeable. The reason? As the oldest I was probably under the age of 11, and the priest had just begun to allude to some sort of child-abuse case. My parents wanted to be safe instead of sorry. My father did explain to the priest afterwards why we had walked out, and the priest, as far as I could tell, was not upset. My parents also explained it to us in a way which we understood and accepted.  A few weeks after having the sex talk with my daughter an individual from our church gave a talk about a missions trip where they were serving unwed mothers and their children. During the course of the talk she described one of the girls as having become pregnant through a violent act of rape. My daughter was hardly comfortable with the positive side of sex, and not ready to hear this. It was so unexpected in a special service when we had even more than the usual numbers of children.  So, after all these years of reaching the radio when stories about sexual abuse were on secular radio, she wound up hearing about it in church instead. :rolleyes:  I'm prolife but agree about it being highly inappropriate in this setting. I'd probably be firing off a very strong email and specifically ask if this is what could be expected in the future, so I could know whether to pull my daughter out or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 It is fine to make the decision to walk out because you want to shelter your kids. It is wrong to attack the person speaking out against murdering babies when the PS start teaching sex ed in Kindergarden and abortion & promiscuity are pushed in sex ed. There are a lot of children in todays society that are having sex well before they reach middle school. How many years do you allow the abortion advocates to lobby the children before you tell them the truth?  It's not about sheltering, its about using some professionalism. Abortion is the not the topic to discuss when you go to see a childrens' performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WishboneDawn Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 When I attend a function advertised as Christian or support a business that advertises as Christian, I expect that there will be discussions, opinions, etc. based on the beliefs of those running the function or the business. It is my duty to determine if their beliefs are biblically sound and to determine if that is where I want to spend my time or my childs time. In addition if someone Christian, it must affect what they say and how they live. To assume otherwise would be foolish.  I'm not sure though that being Christian means you abandon all sense of social ettiquette. Baptism doesn't wash away good judgement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThatCyndiGirl Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 I'm not sure though that being Christian means you abandon all sense of social ettiquette. Baptism doesn't wash away good judgement. Â Â Thank you for saying that. I mean, I would NOT expect to buy a bike at a christian bike shop and have the owner say, "Here ya go, here's the bike you just bought from me and here are all of my thoughts on abortion....gun control.....holy ghost baptism.......evolution/creation,etc." Â Â :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fivetails Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 I'm not sure though that being Christian means you abandon all sense of social ettiquette. Baptism doesn't wash away good judgement. Â :iagree: Â It was neither the time, nor the place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnitWit Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 Kind of a bunny trail...but I have long wondered what kind of affect it would have on abortion rates if all the people who spend their time preaching about it and picketing and demonstrating and yelling, would instead use that time and energy investing in the lives of kids/people around them. I know that people who choose that route have many different reasons for doing so, but we do know that some choose it out of desperation and a feeling that there is no other answer. Â But, of course, actually getting involved in a *person's life* can get messy...it's much easier and cleaner and takes much less time to just run one's mouth. Â Just throwing out a thought...I have no way of knowing if this person ALSO actually gets to know the people they preach at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Sherry Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 Thank you for saying that. I mean, I would NOT expect to buy a bike at a christian bike shop and have the owner say, "Here ya go, here's the bike you just bought from me and here are all of my thoughts on abortion....gun control.....holy ghost baptism.......evolution/creation,etc."Â Â :001_huh: Bwahahahaha That is so true. But then there is the chance that could happen because some people don't have much sense. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted June 13, 2010 Share Posted June 13, 2010 It's not about sheltering, its about using some professionalism. Abortion is the not the topic to discuss when you go to see a childrens' performance. Â Â :iagree: This, exactly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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