UPDATE::No More ‘Jesus Pizza:’ Court Tells Colo. Cowboy Church To Hit The Trail | Americans United

The Cowboy Church of the Crossroads may no longer meet in a public high school, according to the terms of a new settlement. ABC 7 reports that a federal court issued a consent decree that requires Florence, Co.,-based church to find a new home.

The settlement ends a legal battle between the Fremont RE-2 School District and a former teacher over Florence High School’s alleged promotion of the church.

According to Robert Basevitz, Florence administrators had allowed the church to rent its facilities on Sunday and granted its pastor, Randy Pfaff, broad access to students during the school day.

In his complaint, Basevitz described what amounts to a laundry list of constitutional violations. School administrators distributed the church’s literature to students and advertised its events over an official public address system. Pfaff was allowed to use a classroom during the lunch hour to host something students called “Jesus Pizza.” The content, as you can likely gather from the name, was exclusively religious, and offered pizza as an incentive to participate.

The school even allowed the pastor and his flock to host a daily prayer circle in front of its entrance. The circle became so large, Basevitz alleged, that it eventually blocked the school’s entrance.

No More ‘Jesus Pizza:’ Court Tells Colo. Cowboy Church To Hit The Trail | Americans United

Jewish Teacher Sues Colorado School District Over Evangelical Events on School Grounds | Alternet

Remember this,,,

One relatively new tool of the church planting strategy is the public school system. In public schools across the country, the new evangelists have discovered facilities that can be made available to churches at relatively low or no cost—except, presumably, to local taxpayers. In some places, including New York City, the churches have not paid any rent at all.

The following is a perfect example of such methods.

A Colorado teacher has filed a federal lawsuit against the school district where he works, alleging the district’s only high school illegally promotes Christianity in conjunction with a nearby evangelical church.

Robert Basevitz, a former teacher at Florence High School, named the Fremont Re-2 School District, district superintendent Rhonda Vendetti and high school principal Brian Schipper in a suit filed on Tuesday, which claims both the school and district condoned prayer and Bible study on campus. Basevitz, who is Jewish, has accused the district of creating an unwelcoming environment by affiliating with Randy Pfaff, a pastor at The Cowboy Church at Crossroads and reportedly a regular fixture at Florence High School.

According to the Denver Post, Pfaff’s church rents space in the Florence cafeteria for its Sunday morning services, and also hosts regular prayer before school each day as well as Bible study during lunch. The pastor has maintained that all religious activities on campus are voluntary, though Basevitz’s suit claims the school makes announcement about church-affiliated events over its intercom system. Basevitz’s attorney, Paul Maxon, also asserts that the administration condoned the handing out of Bibles and pamphlets with references to Scripture.

“Public institutions are supposed to be equally welcoming and accepting of everybody … but Mr. Basevitz didn’t find a welcoming atmosphere,” Maxon said, adding, “This is not one or two isolated incidents. On a single day, there were no less than five school-sponsored religious events … That is a pervasive involvement with religion, which is illegal."

Jewish Teacher Sues Colorado School District Over Evangelical Events on School Grounds | Alternet

Updated to add:  Colorado Public High School Basically A Church, Saving Kids With Jesus Pizza