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A few of our teachers stopped by and decided to give our seniors a final farewell and goodbye. These are the comments they left:

Mr. Godfrey – Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Mrs. Peterson - Isaiah 26:4 “Trust in the Lord forever, for in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock.”, “P.S. Do yourself a favor – get at least eight and one half hours of sleep in your college days – protect your ability to learn.”

Mr. Williams - “I pray that your stay focused on God’s path for your life. If you do make tough or bad decisions in your college years always go back to God no matter the result. Finally always get connected to a college church group wherever you go.”

Mrs. Piper - “Trust in the Lord with all your heart (trust God with all you’ve got) and lean not on your own understanding (your “good” ideas), in all your ways acknowledge Him, (Your will God, not mine) and He shall direct your path (can’t go wrong with this). Do not be wise in your own eyes; (think you can do this life without God) Fear the Lord and depart from evil (‘nuf said) Proverbs 3:5-7 A praise worthy, God directed and obedient life is worth more than anything this world can offer you. Keep your eyes fastened on the Author of Life!”

Mr. Fast - “Looking back to my first day as a brand new teacher, I saw an eager and intelligent group of 7th graders! Some of you can remember that day as well. This same group of students will now be graduating and I am very proud of each and every one of your accomplishments, as individuals and as a class. Thank you for allowing me to be part of your lives these last six years. You have all been a blessing to me and my family. Follow God with all your heart and your life wil undoubtedly be full and exciting. I have loved the opportunity God has given me to teach, instruct, discipline, weep, encourage, and laugh with you each step of the way. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 God Bless!”

Mrs. Davis - God is all-knowledge, all-wisdom, all-power and all-love, all at the same time.
Therefore… even when you do not understand His hand, you can trust His hand.
I am so proud of how you have all grown since you were my “Freshman babies.” Now get out there and reflect Jesus to your world, with your attitudes, actions and reactions. We Love You!

This year the Journalism class had the amazing opportunity to attend Mount Hermon’s 41^st Christian Writers Conference. All the students took the same Major Morning Teen Track-“Writing a Novel; How to start and finish the race”. We all attended different writing workshops during the day that taught us things like how to create characters that live and breathe, marketing, and article writing. We all had the chance to submit manuscripts to be reviewed by professional writers; their critiques were helpful in enhancing our stories. All had our favorite memory:

Mt Hermon was by far one of the best experiences of my life. I learned so much about writing and just as much about life. It was really cool to hang out with a class as awesome as this one for five days straight. I can’t wait to go again next year!

–Aaron Bennett

I believe that Mt. Hermon was a very enriching part of my life and I have gained knowledge and memories that I will hold with me for the rest of my life. I learned so much about story development and how the Christian writing market differs from that of the secular market. My most lasting memory will probably be just chilling with all my classmates in our room after a long days work and having a blast.

–Nolan Kelley

At Mt. Hermon I really enjoyed hanging out with everyone and getting to know them, especially Jina and Angie. I also loved all the classes I went to; I learned a lot. And meeting with Ethel Herr was a great experience and she encouraged me to continue with my story.

– Heather McCuistion

Mt. Hermon really showed me all the little details in writing. One of the things I learned was how to show characters personalities without telling but by showing their reactions. My favorite part of Mt. Hermon was hanging out with my homies in the rooms and getting to know each of them better.

–Tevin Jones

Before going to Mount Hermon, I was apprehensive and wasn’t sure if it would really help my writing skills, let alone be fun. But, while there, I met many amazing people who aided me on my quest to become an amazing writer, and also bonded with my fellow journalism students (and Dakota). It was a time I will never forget, and will cherish always.

–Angelina Martin

I liked the environment. Everyone was really nice. I also enjoyed making new friends, Dakoters. It was really fun to learn how to be a better writer.

–Anthony Adams

My experience at Mount Hermon was simply amazing. Everything about it was fantastic. I did not really want to go at first, but now I am so glad I did. I learned so much about writing and I am excited to apply it in college! The best part was without a doubt bonding with everyone and becoming a little journalism family. I also enjoyed stealing Nolan’s room key. Angie and I attempted to play a prank on the boys but were caught by Mrs. Thompson. I am so glad that we had the chance to have this experience and I definitely want to go back.

–Jina Daniel

I believe this was my ninth visit to the Mount Hermon Christian Writer’s Conference, and each time, I leave inspired and refreshed. This year was no different. I took James Scott Bell’s Mentoring Track and learned some great fiction writing techniques. It was especially fun for me this year as I watched my journalism class catch the vision of the writing process. Another highlight was hiking with my students on the back tail of the Santa Cruz Hills that abuts the MH campus. My hope is that next year’s class will also have the opportunity to attend the conference.

— Mrs. Thompson

When I was a child the biggest challenge in my life was trying to learn how to ride a bike.  It was a rough start and took me awhile to get used to the whole balance on two wheels thing.  One event is permanently etched in my memory. It was a sunny day and my friend and I were riding when a car raced down my road.  My friend turned sharply to avoid the vehicle and I followed suit. But I over corrected and tipped, falling face first slicing my chin on the asphalt. Yeah, good times. Five stitches later, I made a pact with myself never to pick up biking again.
Several years later, I realized I’d have to break the pack or be destined to a life at home watching reruns of TMNT.  So again I tried to mount the mighty aluminum hog. This time with the encouragement of my friends I was able to conquer my fears, and make it all the way to Target without crashing.

It’s kind of like high school; freshmen year is pretty rough, being the new kid on the block, inexperienced, and unable to fit in with the big dogs on campus.  A little scary, but I had to stay on my toes to stay alive.  Then comes sophomore year, I started thinking I had to pick up my grades for college, and worry about the classes which were actually starting to become hard.  After passing the second year of high school, I was finally a junior, used to the routine and close to being the top dog, I could almost see the light at the end of the tunnel.  So close but yet so far.  Next up is senior year, I’ll finally be top dog, and in one more year I’ll be on my own, just like how I learned how to pick up the bike again.

Question:

What stage in life are you at right now?

In Psalm 118:6 we read, “The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” When God is with you, you can do anything.

A high school student dreams about their senior year throughout their entire high school career. Then when you finally reach senior year…BAM! They slam you with the senior project.

The senior project is an 8-12 page paper about a controversial topic, which requires a 10-15 minute power-point presentation. This counts as a test grade for 3 of your classes, English, Government/Econ, and Bible. The teachers started doing the senior project because seniors were getting separate essays assigned; the teachers thought it would be good idea to have one long paper instead of three short ones, and that is how the senior project was birthed into the lives of TC Seniors.

Each student is assigned to a room where he or she presents the project to four judges. This year the head judges were Mr. Fast, Mrs. Piper, Mrs. Peterson, Mrs. Hernandez, and Mr. Williams. The top 9 are selected to present the project again, in front of a different panel of judges, for the purpose of vying for a scholarship.

This year’s top nine were, Morgan Andre, Hiliary Sharp, Demsina Babazadeh, Geoffrey Retemeyer, Morgan Mcintire, Rebekah Godfrey, Garret Allison, Amy Wright, and Natalie Sanders. In the end, Demsina Babazadeh received third place, Hiliary Sharp received second and Morgan Andre won first place. Each student in the top three received a scholarship to further their education.

Demsina Babazadeh 3rd Place

Topic: Gay Marriage: The Battle Between Right and Wrong

Student Tip: Do it early, do not procrastinate it’ll getcha! Do all your ‘note cards’ in English the right way, the first time, research as much as you can and just get it out of the way…earlier. I spent time every day working on my presentation so, it never piled up for the last minute.

Nervousness? Oh I was definitely nervous doing it the 2nd time in front of the judges, but I think it was harder that way cause it was just the judging panel of (4) your tech partner and you. So it’s way less nerve racking when other classmates are in there.

Improvements: I guess I could have made the presentation longer, and had some handouts or something, but I was overall happy with how my presentation was different then my paper so it wasn’t like I was repeating the information over and over.

Scholarship-$500

Hiliary Sharp 2nd Place

Topic: Effects of Pornography on Society

Student Tip: Pick a topic that you are curious about, something that interests you and is controversial. You WILL spend a lot of time researching. Also, I would recommend choosing a topic that no one else is doing because this gives you a boost as far as the competition aspect goes. Another thing: Google Scholar is great for referencing books and articles.

Nervousness? I always get most nervous waiting to go up, but once I’m up, the nerves die down pretty fast.

Best Part: I think my topic in itself is my favorite part. At first, I was nervous pursuing this topic because I thought it would be really difficult to research, but I really felt that God laid it on my heart to pursue, and in the end it worked out really well. He used the experience to help me grow as an individual, while also (hopefully) impacting the lives of others.

Improvements: All in all, I feel very confident in my work. I gave it my all. I don’t think I’d change anything. I do wish I had started drafting my paper sooner, though. It takes a lot of time.

Scholarship: $700

Morgan Andre 1st Place

Topic: Media Bias and whether it is in favor of Liberal views or Conservative views.

Student Tip: A tip for students next year: is to work really hard on your first draft because after that all you have to do is revise and it’s easy. Also, make an interesting PowerPoint with graphs. They love the graphs.

Nervousness? I was extremely nervous. Presenting and public speaking is completely out of my comfort zone.

Best Part: I think the best part of my presentation was the interview with the Modesto Bee’s editor and Vice President, Mark Vasche. It allowed people to relate to media on a local level.

Improvements: I could definitely improve my public speaking ability and also I wish I had a more interesting introduction.

Scholarship: $1000

1. What is the longest day of the year?
   1. July 4
   2. June 21
   3. August 19
   4. July 30
2. What is the National Ice Cream Month?
   1. June
   2. July
   3. August
   4. September
3. What was the original Frisbee?
   1. Pie tin
   2. Pizza dough
   3. Vinyl record
   4. Dartboard
4. What was the original summer blockbuster?
   1. Star Wars IV
   2. St. Elmo’s Fire
   3. Jaws
   4. Iron Man
5. What is the most popular ice cream flavor?
   1. Chocolate
   2. Vanilla
   3. Strawberry
   4. Pecan
6. How many private swimming pools are in the U.S.?
   1. 50,000
   2. 1,000,000
   3. 10,000,000
   4. 25,000,000
7. What was the temperature on the hottest day ever in the U.S.?
   1. 110 degrees
   2. 117 degrees
   3. 129 degrees
   4. 134 degrees
8. When did Hurricane Katrina hit the U.S.?
   1. August 15, 2005
   2. July 29, 2004
   3. August 20, 2005
   4. August 28, 2005
9. How much is the import value of fireworks to the U.S. from China on July 4?
   1. $20 Million
   2. $57 Million
   3. $128 Million
   4. $298 Million
10. The watermelon is most closely related to the:
    1. Peaches, apricots, and almonds
    2. Cucumbers, pumpkins, and squash
    3. Lemons, Oranges, grapefruit
    4. Apples, pears, cherries
11. The average American eats_________ gallons of ice cream every year.
    1. 3
    2. 4.5
    3. 5.5
    4. 7
12. The most popular flavor of popsicle is:
    1. Root Beer
    2. Fruit Punch
    3. Strawberry
    4. Cherry

Answers: 1-b, 2-b, 3-a, 4-c, 5-b, 6-c, 7-d, 8-d, 9-c, 10-b, 11-c, 12-d

They say that laughter is the best medicine, and those who attended TC’s Drama Production of Don’t Kick the Turkeys got a healthy dose. The comedy under the direction of Dawn Davis, had the audience rolling with laughter. This year the drama class performed two plays- Cakes Galore and Don’t Kick the Turkeys.

It’s only Pastor Clark’s (Geoffrey Retemeyer) third day as pastor of Mission Baptist Church when his secretary, Joy (Kristen Tillotsen), starts laying down the laws of the office, while the janitor (Jesse Gray) is “fixing” everything in sight with duct tape. The most prestigious member of the congregation (Hiliary Sharp) is on the warpath, and an eccentric choir director (Ashlee Burnam) presents some far out ideas for Sunday morning’s special.

Calamity and humor escalates when a daycare moves into the church building after the pipes in their own building burst. Can God work in such a situation? A message is brought unexpectedly by way of a homeless man, and the members of the church realize there are more important things than keeping a squeaky clean image. Alongside the laughs, Don’t Kick the Turkeys offered striking similarities to almost every church.

The second performance of the night, Cakes Galore, featured Helen and Fern (Megan Brown and Morgan Andre) as two elderly women devoted to serving the poor every Tuesday and Thursday. They attend the small Mission Baptist church. Their “competition”, Southside Baptist has all the money they need to serve the poor extravagant dinners that consist of things like steak, meanwhile Mission Baptist is struggling to serve soup and sandwiches.

With depleting funds, the Mission church will soon be forced to suspend the ministry. Helen and Fern hold a fundraiser consisting of a 50’s theme with music and a cakewalk, which is headed for disaster when undermined by the Southside Baptist candlelight thanksgiving dinner. Eventually the two churches join forces with great success.

“I laughed through the whole thing; it was really professionally done” says Junior Jordan Gustafson. Each play had a unique message; Don’t Kick the Turkeys dealt with the issue of taking the road less traveled. The pastor had to take the lead for the other church members to follow him. Also, the play confronted the issue of homelessness. Don’t Kick the Turkeys taught the audience that we need to help those who are less fortunate than us. Cakes Galore also dealt with homelessness and taught us that we need to help the poor even if they are dishonest because we are called by God to help others.

The cast loved being part of the comedy troupe. “Playing Helen was really fun and I loved hanging out back stage with my fellow cast members,” said Megan Brown. Morgan also enjoyed her part saying, “Portraying Fern was a really exciting and different experience.”

Lead actor Geoffrey Retemeyer was appreciative of the director’s hard work. “Mrs. Davis is an awesome director and I am really happy I had the opportunity to work with her”.

Drama is a very special class filled with very special students. Each student had the opportunity to get something out of drama and to give great and memorable performances.

After receiving their dose of laughter; it’s safe to say that TC is a healthy group.

When it comes to hospitality one country that has it down is Spain, according to one of our own students, Brianne McCuistion. She went to Spain as an exchange student her junior year and was nervous about not making friends, but the friends she has developed have become close and very dear.

Brianne had a few surprises once she reached her destination in Villaviciosa, Astorias a city of 14,360 people, “I expected to use, ‘usted’, ‘senor’ and ‘senora’ (all formal titles used for those in authority) but they called their teachers by their first names as well as their parents. To me that was weird.”

Brianne had always expressed that she was interested in other cultures even as a child, but her desire to live out her interests came out on paper one day. “When I was a freshman my dad asked me to think about my future and what I wanted to do. I wrote a timeline out and I placed the option of going to Spain my sophomore or junior year. I like the language very much and the idea of staying in a different county really enchanted me,” said Brianne.

This led Brianne and her family to contact AFS, American Field Services, which is an organization that prepares school students for the different cultures, and prepares them for the exchange student experience. The organization does this so that the students can best represent their country.

Brianne loves being an exchange student, even though it was lonely at first. “I did feel isolated from my family. My year in Spain has been a wild ride. The first thing that hit me was the change in ‘family’. My family is extremely important to me; I love them very much and value their opinion. When they were suddenly gone I almost shut down. In Spain many people tend to yell, shout, scream and any other loud volatile sounds more than I am used to at home. Sometime I feel nervous or even scared to enter the house or leave my room,” said Brianne.

Despite the expense (almost $12,000), Brianne believes it was well worth the price. “Being an exchange student is an awesome experience. I have grown so much. The trip was totally worth it.”

Brianne gets back home July 2, 2010. Her family is excited that she is coming home now.

Mrs. Tucker always wanted to sail the seas as a biologist but there was one problem, “I really wanted to be a marine biologist for a long time but I get really sick on a boat.”
Mrs. Tucker came from everybody’s favorite town, “I am from this area – Turlock, My mom taught science at TC for 11 years and now I teach here. I don’t know if that’s interesting.” And let’s not forget everybody’s favorite school, “I graduated from Turlock Christian High School. Then I went to college at CSU Stanislaus where I received a degree in Biological Science. After that I went through the Credential program at Stanislaus.”

Mrs. Tucker comes from an extensive background of caring for children, something that probably comes in handy, “I really enjoyed working with kids. I worked with children at my church and I really enjoyed it. When I first started teaching I taught elementary school, which I really enjoyed, but I love science and had the opportunity to teach high school biology and really enjoy that now.”

Although this is only Mrs. Tuckers 2ed year teaching at TCHS she has already become apart of our family, “The students I have, and the relationships I have with them are what makes me want to come to work everyday.”

For somebody who likes to go places all the time, it’s a good thing Mrs. Tucker always returns to our small town, “I love to travel – I have been a lot of fun places. I love Disneyland – any student who has had me for a teacher I think knows that. I am also a big SF Giants fan.”

Lucky for us Mrs. Tucker decided not to get on the boat.

Bob and Sue, a young married couple had always dreamed of owning a home, but with no down payment and limited income it seemed out of reach, until they were offered a low-interest loan to purchase the perfect house. Sure, there was an accelerated balloon payment in about three years, but Bob’s income would increase by then and, worst case scenario, they would sell the house for more than the purchase price and pay off the loan. Unfortunately that’s not what happened. Housing prices declined, the payment went up, and Bob, a building contractor, lost his job. Today, Bob and Sue are losing their home at the end of the month. They fell victim to one of the biggest financial meltdowns in US history.

This scenario isn’t too far away from the truth. Just recently millions of people lost their jobs, houses, and their hope. But just what happened to the U.S. economy in 2007 – present?  The answer is that the United States banking system in plain and simple words became insolvent.  Bad loans offered during times of prosperity were sold off to domestic and foreign investors and became worthless bonds. This was the catalyst for the insurance companies, like AIG to exhaust their resources trying to cover these bad deals. This led to the downward spiral that is today’s crash.

The question many people wanted answered was how did this happen and what are we going to do about it?  Not a simple answer, but here are a few explanations for what caused this crash and possible solutions.

Easy credit, plentiful jobs resulting in plenty of money, combined with mortgage backed-securities enabled people, investors and institutions to over invest in the U.S. housing market. This combined with peoples’ expectation that home prices would continue to rise, led to huge defaults on sub-prime loans (where the borrower has a greater risk of defaulting and therefore pays a higher interest rate) and ARM’s (adjustable rate mortgages where payments can balloon beyond one’s means to pay).

Predatory lending and deregulation were additional contributors to the economic meltdown as well.  Consumers were lured by low initial interest rates which were unsafe and unsound and which would later convert to a higher amount.  Also regulation did not keep pace with new financial innovations. In fact, laws were passed but not enforced or the laws passed were weak and unnecessary, allowing self-regulation to take its place.  This was a recipe for disaster.

One last cause worth taking a look at is the idea that Capitalism itself is to blame.  It has been suggested that a surplus of money, which could not be placed in productive capital investment, was instead diverted to financial markets. This combined with deregulation and human greed was the real cause of the financial meltdown.

The impact of this collapse is that credit markets crashed, and corporations couldn’t get loans to fund operations.  Consumer credit lines were slashed or became non-existent.  Spending slowed to the point where businesses were forced to close and unemployment soared.

So what was done to counter this collapse? The immediate response to this was the controversial 700 billion dollar bailout of financial and business institutions.  This was then followed up by a 1 trillion dollar stimulus package to offset the decrease in private sector demand.

Long-term goals will involve more in depth and forceful regulation, and possibly even a governmental watchdog agency to keep laws enforced, to ensure that human greed doesn’t get the foothold it had during and before this crisis.

But no matter how popular or unpopular the U.S. government’s liquidity injection into the credit market is, it probably staved off a global financial collapse.  CSUS retired Economics Professor Albert Lee called it “a necessary evil.”  The purchases of troubled financial entities and businesses has stabilized the economy and slowed the economic contraction.  While job losses, foreclosures, and tight credit continue to plague many people, conditions have improved and the economy has been pulled back from the precipice, at least for now.

• Every second over 7,000 Coca-Cola products are consumed.
• China has 100 million Internet users, second to the US’s 135 million users.
• The microwave oven was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.
• The name for Oz in “The Wizard of Oz” was thought up when the creator, Frank Baum, looked at his filing cabinet and saw A-N, and O-Z, hence “Oz.”
• There are approximately fifty Bibles sold each minute across the world!
• “Go,” is the shortest complete sentence in the English language.
• Some Oak trees do not produce acorns until they are fifty years of age or older.

It’s not everyday that a former Presidential running mate visits the sleepy town of Turlock, California, so you would think the town would be jumping for joy…but not everyone is jumping.

On June 25, 2010, CSU, Stanislaus will celebrate their 50th Anniversary Gala on Friday with a black-tie fundraising event, hosted by the CSU Stanislaus Foundation. The event begins at 6 p.m. with a five-course dinner, and guest speaker former Governor and Presidential running mate, Sarah Palin, finishing up the evening with a dance.

So what’s the problem with that?  People think that the university is going to use public funds to put this event on. Matt Swanson, the president of the California State University Stanislaus Foundation Board of Directors reassures that, “While the gala fundraiser will benefit a public university, no public funds are being used on the gala. Ticket sales and sponsorships are paying for all costs, including Gov. Palin’s speaking fee. All net profits from the gala will benefit university programs and student services.”

Nevertheless, the reactions remain mixed. Some Turlock citizen’s remain disgruntled, believing that regular donor dollars have been wastefully allocated, or that scholarship monies have disappeared as a result of the event. Yet, others remain hopeful that a national personality will draw money to the area by way of commerce. A position that Swanson supports, “We engaged Governor Palin because she is a compelling public figure who will help raise money for the university at a time when fundraising is especially difficult.”

Regardless of what people think the event promises to be well attended.  According to Swanson, “The event is sold out and is on target to raise a considerable amount for the university.”

As far as the controversy is concerned, well that’s just politics!

See if you can guess which senior by the clue given

1. drives a corvette
2. got a 5 on her AP english test
3. drives the green machine
4. favorite class is drama
5. runs the school
6. a Stanford alumni
7. loves cats
8. goes to the most concerts
9. host the after parties
10. the model
11. Salutatorian
12. musical genius
13. sports all-star
14. drummer boy
15. fanatic patriot fan
16. fall homecoming queen 2009
17. most apathetic
18. on a travel swim team
19. powder puff football stud
20. brought steak to outdoor ed
21. the guy who had a ruptured spleen
22. going to U.O.P
23. known as the monster in football
24. has hot tub parties
25. known as “easy rider”
26. going to be a marine
27. plays travel vball
28. A.P calc wizz
29. going Fresno state
30. jujitsu master
31. the lil wayne wanna be
32. Worked with his cousin to make a mousetrap vehicle
33. has a train horn in his truck
34. the dairy man
35. lead singer of worship team
36. wishes their were more Asian girls at tc
37. best golfer
38. lead in every drama
39. has the best cow ever
40. rides his bike to school
41. loves horses
42. has a tattoo on her back
43. future farmer
44. plays girls soccer
45. always late to English class
46. baseball stud
47. Amazing artist
48. most godly
49. basketball stud
50. the host of the bachelor nights

ANSWERS

1.Mitchell Everett 2. Staci Hogue 3. Garret Allison 4. Kristen Tillotson 5. Demsina Babazdeh 6. Matthew Davoodian 7. Heather McCuistion 8. Mary Boyer 9. Garret Yagi 10. Anthony (tony) Campos  11. Johanna Muller 12. Traevor Carlton 13. Robert Smallwood 14. John Kim 15. Jina Daniel 16. Candice Balswick 17. Anthony Adams 18. Rebekah Godfrey  19. Simranjit Grewal  20. John Heller 21. Cody Aldrin 22. Kevin Huang 23. Nikko Jennings 24. Kiley Keas 25. Justin Curtis 26. Tyler Landmeier 27. Aubrey Larson 28. Hye lee 29. Casey Synder 30. Miles Martinez 31. George Biko 32. Morgan McIntire 33. Nicholas Mendoza 34. Austin Morelli 35. Chelsy Carlson 36. Seongjoo Park 37. Beau Simon-Warda 38. Geoffrey Retemeyer 39. Natalie Sanders 40. Daniel Schultz 41. Hiliary Sharp 42. Christina Pegues 43. Derek Cederlind 44. Danae Smith 45. Kyron Loving 46. Trevor Starn 47. Morgan Andre 48. Amy Wright 49. Josh Wright 50. Megan Brown

You may be surprised to know that the phrase “under God” was not included in the original pledge of allegiance. In fact the first edition of the pledge, written by a Baptist minister by the name of Francis Bellamy, penned it without “Under God”. Over the years several changes and additions were made.

First in 1924 when “Unite States” in the allegiance was amended to “United States of America,” and again in 1954 when President Eisenhower signed a bill to add the words “under God.”

Another famous American document, the Declaration of Independence, references God three times. Both of these documents seem to indicate that Americans believe that there is a higher power then the state.

Faith and state are strongly fused in this country and have been from its beginning. Our national identity for over 200 years has referenced God. There are many examples of our nation’s religious heritage. For example we acknowledge God in court when we say “I do” after hearing “Do you promise to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God?” Also our currency has the words “In God We Trust” printed on them.

These deistic references have lead many to question whether or not these professions of ‘faith’ in the political realm violate the notion of separation of church and state. The idea is that by having references of God in our governmental documents that its an obvious supporting of a theistic government, that our government supports one religion, which is of course a clear violation of the Constitution.

The truth is though that the ‘god’ in the pledge and other documents is not a violation, because this ‘god’ can be any deity in any number of religions. It’s not establishing a government supported religion because it’s to open to interpretation of who this deity is.

The rub comes when Christians and many other groups of people claim that this country is in fact a Christian nation, that the ‘god’ in these documents is the God of the Bible, the Christian God. This obviously means that the pledge and other such writings violate the Constitution and are thus illegal and must be removed.

We may very well be a Christian nation, but its only in name. Our laws were written by mostly Christian men, our Constitution was written with Christian principles in mind. We are Christian by virtue, not by name, or any governmental support. Our leaders may very well be Christian men, but that’s only because it’s dictated by the Bible to bring your faith into your work. These believers form a tradition of practices that are both culturally and judicially accepted, since no one is forced to become Christian in this country, nor any other religion for that matter, it’s Constitutionally acceptable. And while the judiciary has validated these practices and many others, they have not been elevated to constitutionally protected status.

Ours is a unique faith as far as political theology goes. We are a faith based government that separates the church from the state, but not the believer from the state. We are a Christian nation that does not have a Christian government, only Christian ethics and leaders. We are a religious nation that does not have a religious government, only religious leaders.

There are over 300 religions and denominations in the U.S. and all have the freedom to practice their faith, or not. We are multi-ethnic and multi-religious. America continues its tradition of separation and accommodation that forms the history of church-state relations in America.
To recite or not recite the words “under God” is a right established by the Constitution. The pledge of allegiance is patriotic, not religious.

“Masquerade Paper faces on parade” invaded the Assyrian Civic Club for the annual Junior/Senior Banquet. The theme for the May event was The Phantom of the Opera, so of course the seniors were serenaded by the likes of Christine, Raoul, Carlotta, and even the Phantom himself.

The Junior/Senior Banquet (JSB), a tradition at Turlock Christian, dates back to the ‘90s. This year, Mrs. J Burnam was the main overseer of the event, and really tried to incorporate God into every aspect of the banquet. “The most fun aspect of running the JSB was all of the relational aspects with students, parents, and outside people we have contacted.  I also keep learning the important lesson to give ALL things to God and Trust Him.  I incorporated I Corinthians 10:31 as the theme verse of JSB ‘…whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.’

Burnam was pleased just how well the junior class planed the event. “It has been our goal to ultimately glorify God with JSB as we honor our seniors. The junior class held a lot of responsibility as well, and really put all of their effort into making the night a perfect one for the seniors.”

The evening began with a bang as the seniors made their way through the phantom’s cave, entering into the “Opera House.” The banquet hall was decorated lavishly in black and gold, and the sparkling chandeliers accented the grandeur of the room. The juniors, who served the seniors, could be found darting from table to table, delivering food, filling up glasses, and clearing plates, their identities kept a secret by the exuberant masks upon their faces’.

After the first course of the meal, the Phantom (Kurt Lemos), Christine (Molly Farrar), and Raoul (Chase Ulrich) performed some of their favorite songs for the audience. Another source of entertainment for the night was a dance put on by the juniors, which was a re-enactment of the masquerade scene from the movie, The Phantom of the Opera. Carlotta, the Prima Donna of the opera house, also sang some of her favorite songs to tables upon request.

A slideshow of the seniors was shown, which reflected on their transition from childhood into adulthood. Parents were teary eyed while the seniors preferred to giggle at each other’s baby pictures. Later in the night, an open mic was presented so that the seniors could share their favorite high school memories. As usual, Cody Aldrin, Beau Warda, and Trevor Starn provided laughs, while other such as Hiliary Sharp, Jina Daniel, Matthew Davoodian, and Robbie Smallwood chose to be more serious with their reflections on their high school years.

All in all, it was a great night, and a perfect way to sum up the year for the seniors. As they transition from high school to college, it’s time for them to take off their masks and begin a new stage in life.

The U.S. has been a big giver throughout it’s own history, from the aid given to the Panamanians, to the tons of goods shipped daily to many of the peoples of South East Asia, and also to the food shipped to many countries all over Africa. We’re just trying to help out is all. But, what happens when people complain about the help given to them?

In 2010 when a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Haiti almost 300,000 people had died and far many more made homeless from the ensuing chaos. Soon after, countries from around the world pledged billions of dollars of aid to Haiti in order to help them rebuild as fast as possible. The UN wiped out millions in Haitian debt, and even went as far as to allow Haitians because of the huge loss of homes as a result of the Earthquake.

However, news stations from around the world started to spread information undermining the way the United States was giving out aid in Haiti. They made it seem as though the United States was militarizing the region and was especially militaristic in their aid. As PJ Crowley, US Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs,

stated, “News outlets falsely compared military activities at the airport to a little Green Zone,” comparing this to the United States controlled Green Zone in occupied Iraq.

As if the sticks and stones weren’t enough, Christian missionaries from Idaho that were attempting to deliver children from Haiti to an orphanage in the Dominican Republic were also hit with kidnapping charges from the local government. Haitian police stopped the ten missionaries on January 29, 2010, as they tried to take thirty-three Haitian children across the border to the Dominican Republic. They claimed to be trying to get the children to a safe place, since many of them had lost their parents from the earthquake. Was this the best idea? Probably not, but, should the Haitian government really treat this as huge an issue as it has? Thankfully, nine of the ten missionaries have been acquitted and one still stands trial, the leader of the group, who is likely to be acquitted.

As Luke 6: 34-36 says, “(34) And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even ’sinners’ lend to ’sinners,’ expecting to be repaid in full. (35) But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. (36) Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

Basically, we are called to love our enemies and continue to help them and give to them no matter what. The people in Haiti are truly feeling pain like none other, so is it really appropriate to bring politics into the realm of aid? We must continue our aid to Haiti and simply ignore what other people say, and other countries will follow in stride. We can only do this and spread the hope that we bring these people with the love of God.