Local pastor led Christian meeting on Mansfield high school campus, records show
The person who led a meeting of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes on a high school campus in Mansfield in September was a pastor from a local church, according to information received through an open records request.
School visitation records show that a man named Sylvester Stemley signed in to be on campus at Lake Ridge High School the day a student said he was forced to attend the religious meeting by a teacher.
Stemley signed in at 10:12 a.m. on Sept. 30 and signed out an hour later, according to the visitor registry for that day. “FCA” was listed as his reason for being on campus.
Stemley serves as student pastor at TCAL Church in Mansfield, according to its website. He and the church did not respond to multiple emails and calls seeking comment.
He was leading students in prayer and asking them if they accepted Jesus Christ, said Jon Luna, the father of the student who expressed discomfort at being told to attend the meeting.
Having a religious leader conduct this type of event on a public school campus amounts to a “government-sponsored worship service,” according to Hirsh Joshi, a legal fellow with the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which works to promote and protect the separation of church and state.
The meeting “not being student-led gives much more credence to the idea that this assembly was ‘government-speech’ or a government endorsed program,” Joshi said. “That should send shivers down everyone’s spine. This is pretty textbook as an Establishment Clause violation.”
The Establishment Clause is the first 10 words of the Bill of Rights: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.” It is followed by what is known as the Free Exercise Clause, which disallows the government from prohibiting citizens from practicing whatever religion they choose.
The Free Exercise Clause has been used to justify student-led religious activities on public school campuses, such as FCA and See You at the Pole.
But allowing a pastor on campus to lead a worship service students are told to attend during school hours could be problematic for the district, according to Stephen Dubner, a Lewisville-based attorney who represents school districts across Texas.
“Having it be somebody brought in, and then telling the kids you’re supposed to attend, and the kids don’t have an option not to attend, and it’s done during the school day, is something that I would not advise them to do,” he said.
The employee responsible for allowing Stemley on campus to conduct the meeting could face litigation for violating the student’s constitutional rights, Dubner said, as could the district itself, “if they had a policy that allowed that during the school day.”
A district spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Math teacher Caleb Chambliss told the student to attend through the school messaging system, according a screen shot of the message shared by the boy’s father. It said, “Go to the theater (PAC) for advisory.” Chambliss did not respond to a request for comment.
A spokesperson for the school district told the Star-Telegram in October that it reviewed the communication the students were sent, and they did not include the words “mandatory” or “required.”
“Participation in FCA is a voluntary activity for Lake Ridge students who choose to attend,” the district said in an emailed statement at the time. “The opportunity to attend FCA during advisory is a recent scheduling change at the campus. Going forward, the teacher will ensure that students understand their attendance at such a meeting is entirely optional, and alternatives will be made clear.”
Luna, who does not practice any religion, said he has no plans to sue for now.
Luna does not see the meeting as a government-sponsored worship service. For him, the issue boils down to equal access to school campuses for all religious practitioners.
“Everybody should have an opportunity to do that and allow them to bring their pastors in,” he said.
Barring that possibility, no cleric-led religious activities should be allowed on campus, Luna said.
“If they’re going to only have it this way for one religion, then none of them should be there,” he said.
