Pacifist school rapped as unpatriotic

National Catholic Reporter, Sept 17, 2004 by Rich Preheim

Central Christian School does not display the stars and stripes above other flags or play the national anthem before sporting events. The Mennonite school also does not have as many students or employees as it did two years ago.

The latter is connected to the former, said Central Christian School Superintendent Fred Miller. In the charged political and social climate following Sept. 11, 2001, his school is seen as unpatriotic, even though it's merely trying to adhere to its pacifist religious beliefs.

The school actually recorded an all-time high enrollment of 410 students during the 2002-03 school year, the year after the terrorism attacks. Central's enrollment fell though to 357 the following year, then this fall dropped even further, as 333 students enrolled in preschool through grade 12. Miller gave several reasons for the drop, such as the cost of attending a private school.

Also contributing to the decrease, he said, has been Central's adherence to its faith-based peace position.

Miller estimated that about one-fourth of the students who withdrew from Central did so because of the absence of "The Star-Spangled Banner." And there is no way to determine how many potential students chose not to attend.

Through 2002-03, the school had been averaging about 90 new students a year. But that figure plummeted to 49 last year before improving to 60 this fall.

As the numbers indicate, Central's peace stand had not generated much criticism before the terrorist attacks.

"It's fine until you get into a patriotic frenzy," Miller said. "Where there isn't a war or there isn't an issue, it doesn't matter if you're a pacifist."

The school is affiliated with Mennonite Church USA, a Christian denomination that adheres to pacifist beliefs. Central is not un-American, Miller said, but following biblical teachings to not kill, to love enemies and to pursue justice means not lifting the United States above others.

In the Central gym hangs the U.S. flag, as well as some 30 other flags representing the home countries of students who have attended the school since it began in 1961.

"We acknowledge that we serve a world community," Miller said.

Such lofty inspiration has not spared the school. As a result of the decreasing enrollment, Central this year had to trim its budget by about $350,000, including cutting the equivalent of eight full-time administration, faculty and staff positions.

There have been other repercussions, as well. The Veterans of Foreign Wars blitzed the school with critical letters. A local newspaper noted that school supporters do not stand for the national anthem when Central plays away games.

"That's part of being faithful," Miller said. "It's a matter of following the Gospel, of following Jesus as you understand that call.... There are consequences to faith, and sometimes you don't know what they all are."

He said the backlash has not been against other ways Central enacts its peace beliefs, such as Bible courses, school newsletter articles or its "restorative" approach to student discipline, which emphasizes restoring the relationship between the offender and the victim.

Central is not the only Mennonite school to be adversely affected by post-Sept. 11 sensitivities. Christopher Dock Mennonite School in Lansdale, Pa., and Iowa Mennonite School in Kalona, Iowa, have both been barred from hosting post-season playoff games by their state high school athletic associations because they do not play the national anthem or fly the flag.

RICH PREHEIM Religion News Service Kidron, Ohio