Catalyst Church Causes Uproar

Worship Services in Schools- Syracuse.com My family is part of Catalyst Church, an Evangelical Covenant Church plant in Syracuse, NY. We meet in Nottingham High School on the eastern side of the city. Just prior to our grand opening service on October 5, we sent out a 10,000 piece mailer to the community. The school district then began receiving phone calls from neighborhood residents upset that the school was being used for a church. Five days after the launch a newspaper article, Worship Services in Schools, appeared in the Post-Standard. Overall is was positive and made fleeting mention of Catalyst. Apparently Catalyst is one of 3 churches currently meeting in Syracuse City Schools. "We have three now, but we've had as many as six," facilities director Nick DiBello said. "We've gotten complaints over the years. . . . People think 'separation of church and state,' but it's not that simple." For the constitutional sticklers, a church holding services or meeting in a school does not violate the U.S. Constitution's Establishment Clause - that is, the separation of church and state. The U.S. Supreme Court has said that if schools open their facilities to any non-school group, they must allow community religious groups to access school property under the same terms. That includes meetings of church and religious groups during noninstructional hours. On our opening Sunday we had a few people wander in who were out jogging and "needed to use the drinking fountain", and who appeared vaguely suspicious. It was cute. We had 135 people and a great day of worship.