Would a Christian drum corps be accepted?

[Stu]

I suppose it would depend upon what this alleged Christian Corps did. I suppose the ACLU could get involved if chose to if this Corps held itself out as a Religious musical unit and in its competitive performance on a high school field, it utilized a prayer in performance. Since Prayer on public school grounds is verboten, its possible that the ACLU could enter the picture to shut them down. I'm no lawyer on this, but I could see some possibilities here to shut such a unit down if they were not diligent enough.

In every case that I am aware of, public school buildings and subsequent facilities are public facilities which can be used by the public for various functions outside of the school day. So, if the school and field can be used, rented, by say the Lions Club the school district cannot discriminate against another activity which also wants to use, rent, the facility to conduct say religious activities. There are many, many, many church services which take place in public schools every weekend all around the nation. The only way to prevent that from happening would be for the school district to disallow any and all non-school related entities from using the school facilities.

[Kamarag]

I'd love for the Blue Devils to tackle the actual history of Christianity.

Now THAT I could get behind.

It would be a really short show.

[jonnyboy]

OP: A Christian drum corps would be accepted by the fans in the stands. There are lots of brands of evangelism, from the bible in your face screamer to the person that tries to lead by example. IMO shoot for the latter. I think if you embrace putting out good music with a positive message, and you maybe tried to have the staff and membership know what they represent, you could have something that DC community would like.

[skywhopper]

If this idea ever gave it a go, I wonder how long before some group complained and the next thing you know, the ACLU is trying to shut them down.

Why would the ACLU object to the existence of a private religious organization? Guess what, the ACLU is in the business of protecting such organizations and individuals from discrimination.

[skywhopper]

I suppose it would depend upon what this alleged Christian Corps did. I suppose the ACLU could get involved if chose to if this Corps held itself out as a Religious musical unit and in its competitive performance on a high school field, it utilized a prayer in performance. Since Prayer on public school grounds is verboten, its possible that the ACLU could enter the picture to shut them down. I'm no lawyer on this, but I could see some possibilities here to shut such a unit down if they were not diligent enough.

This is not true at all. The school administration or teachers or coaches cannot organize prayers, but the students may do so, and in fact, they often do, yes on school grounds, and hey, it's totally legal, in fact the ACLU defends the rights of student groups to do such things!

[Joe Salvatore]

I seem to recall that the The Royal Crusaders of Finleyville PA started out doing Christian themed shows that were quite popular and good.

In fact I seem to recall them even carrying a large cross on the field as part of one of their early 1970s shows.

http://www.corpsreps.com/corpsreps.cfm?view=corpsdet&corps=20&corpstype=Junior

http://drumcorpswiki.com/Royal_Crusaders

The 1989, 1990, and 1991 shows of the Cavaliers were inspired by Christian and more specifically Catholic music.

http://www.corpsreps.com/corpsreps.cfm?view=corpsyr&corps=9&yearqry=1989&corpstype=Junior

http://www.corpsreps.com/corpsreps.cfm?view=corpsyr&corps=9&yearqry=1990&corpstype=Junior

http://www.corpsreps.com/corpsreps.cfm?view=corpsyr&corps=9&yearqry=1991&corpstype=Junior

I personally, enjoy the J. Rutter music and have the Cavaliers to thank for exposure to it.

Peace All!

:innocent:/>

Sorry, I forgot some favorite closers from Spirit of Atlanta ... 1979/1980 Let It Be Me and 1981 We Are the Reason

Edited August 13, 2013 by Joe Salvatore

[The Other Mike]

I'd rather see a "fundamentalist" corps that plays on G bugles where the drum major acts out the nailing of papers to DCI's doors........... :tongue:/>

edit to add: of course the horn line would be known as Joshua's Paint Peelers

Edited August 13, 2013 by The Other Mike

[corps8294]

Most likely Pioneer...

Well, they make their members go to church.

[Northern Thunder]

I seem to recall that the The Royal Crusaders of Finleyville PA started out doing Christian themed shows that were quite popular and good.

In fact I seem to recall them even carrying a large cross on the field as part of one of their early 1970s shows.

Yeah, Joe. The Royal Crusaders of both '72 and '73 were enormously entertaining with their "Old-Time Religion" and "Sin Music" shows.

The '73 show in particular integrated comedy as well as anybody had done on the field to that point, combining such numbers as the Hallelujah Chorus

with Walk On The Wild Side and The Beer Barrel Polka.

[danielray]

To do shows that share the gospel and spiritual matters of life.....forgiveness, loving your brother, etc; Not force feed but just do what they do? I think churches would financially back it and Christian horn players would like to be part of that. What do you think?

There was a Christian corps based in Arizona back in the late 80's early 90's called the Praise Warriors.

They did not allowing any kids to participate unless they declared themselves to be Christian and agreed to adhere to a specific set of behaviors (the very concept of excluding anyone for any reason seemed quite at odds with very basic concepts of Christianity).

The whole concept was as creepy as it was tacky. Nothing even remotely similar should be attempted again, as excluding kids due to religious beliefs (while fully in their right as a private organization) is a very dickish thing to do.