Pa. school district takes street preacher to court

[wyguy]

Pa. school district takes street preacher to court

HARRISBURG, Pa. (RNS) Should a street preacher be banned from approaching students at a bus stop?

Dauphin County, Pa., Judge Jeannine Turgeon is weighing that question regarding Stephen Garisto, who says he has a constitutional right to evangelize to the students.

Turgeon didn't make a final ruling after a hearing Thursday (Jan. 13) on a school district's plea for a permanent injunction to keep Garisto away from the children.

Yet she did tell Garisto that while his intentions might be pure, his actions eerily mimic those commonly associated with pedophiles and child abductors.

"Mr. Garisto, you're not Mr. Rogers," Turgeon said, invoking the children's television icon. "In our culture we tell children, `Do not talk to strangers."'

For the time being, she continued a temporary injunction requiring Garisto to stay away from the bus stop near his home in Penbrook, Pa.

Garisto was in court because school district officials and parents are concerned about his interactions with the middle and high schoolers who board buses near his home.

The district moved the bus stop in response to parent concerns, but officials claim Garisto still approached children several times.

In 2004, county Judge Scott A. Evans fined Garisto $50 after finding him guilty of disorderly conduct for protesting at the prior year's PrideFest, Harrisburg's annual gay and lesbian festival.

Bus driver Carol Mihailoff reported repeated incidents with Garisto, including one in October when he approached some girls as they got off the bus.

"My concern is that the children need to get home and be safe, because I have no idea what (Garisto) has up his sleeve," Mihailoff testified.

Garisto said his only intent is to preach God's word.

When he took the witness stand, he asked to be sworn in on a Bible. None was available in the courtroom, so he provided his own.

"Being a street preacher and evangelist ... that is something that is common for me to do," he said. "I have been ministering to children since the `80s."

Questioned by Engle, he said he gave tracts to "unsaved children" without asking their parents' permission. "My intention is to get them saved and to get them discipled," Garisto said.

Engle conceded Garisto has a right to preach publicly, but argued that a bus stop isn't an appropriate pulpit. "These are kids. They don't have the wherewithal to say to Mr. Garisto, `I don't want a Bible tract,"' Engle said.

"What he have here is a man who wants to be a good neighbor," countered Garisto's lawyer, Henry Sollenberger. "He wants to share his faith with those around him."

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[nebula]

Engle conceded Garisto has a right to preach publicly, but argued that a bus stop isn't an appropriate pulpit. "These are kids. They don't have the wherewithal to say to Mr. Garisto, `I don't want a Bible tract,"' Engle said.

Oh please!

Why does everyone have this idea that teenagers are mindless, spineless, unopinionated, non-vocal, . . . .

I remember high school. None of us had any problems speaking our minds, telling strangers to buzz off, arguing are religious and philosophical beliefs, etc.

[rant]Our society needs to stop viewing teens as "kids" and start viewing them as young adults. Maybe they will start acting accordingly.[/rant]

[ladypeartree]

Whilst I agree that teenagers are normally MORE than capable of telling someone to back off I would also be concerned ... it is easy to say he is just handing out tracts and preaching but then you can say the same thing about the "priests" that abused children. If we tell out children ...and that includes our teenagers ... not to interact with strangers then that has to include those that would like to preach to them. How would we all feel if it was a muslim person trying to instruct our children ???

[wyguy]

Whilst I agree that teenagers are normally MORE than capable of telling someone to back off I would also be concerned ... it is easy to say he is just handing out tracts and preaching but then you can say the same thing about the "priests" that abused children. If we tell out children ...and that includes our teenagers ... not to interact with strangers then that has to include those that would like to preach to them. How would we all feel if it was a muslim person trying to instruct our children ???

The guy was simply preaching on the street and handing out tracts. To lump him in with "pedophiles and child abductors" is going too far. The media and the courts will not stop until all Christians are thought to be on the same level as terrorists.

[other one]

Question...... if this person was a wiccan witch or worlock, would we feel the same..... If this person was of the church of Satan would we still be saying the same things.... I don't think so. Question is would they be taking them to court???? that I don't know

[wyguy]

Question...... if this person was a wiccan witch or worlock, would we feel the same..... If this person was of the church of Satan would we still be saying the same things.... I don't think so. Question is would they be taking them to court???? that I don't know

I say as long as they don't single out Christian's for harassment, let the Wiccan's and The Church of Satan people preach. The Christian wordview beats them hands down.

Would they take them to court? Well, I know for certain they wouldn't dare take a Muslim to court if he were doing the same thing. Heck, the school district would probably invite him into the school.

[other one]

they wouldn't around here... we're still struggling through voting to never have sharia law LoL.

[ladypeartree]

It doesnt matter WHAT he is handing out he shouldnt be doing it !!!

He could be giving sweets

........................cigarretts

........................drugs

........................tricks/jokes

........................toys

........................money

........................lottery tickets

........................anything

The point is that he shouldnt be approaching these kids

[oldzimm]

If I were the parent of one of those kids and it was a muslim preaching to them, I would've gone out and imprinted my shoe size on his bottom.

Now since this man was a Christian and from my own life experience, It was people that tried forcing Christianity on me that kept me from seeking and wanting to know God sooner. When a person is thirsty, that is when he/she will seek water. It is like the old saying "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink".

If you really think about it, are we really doing a person any good if we force Christianity on them? (forcing, sounds like something muslims would do) I think God would sooner have a lost sheep come back on his own, then have people going out to lasso them and bring them in.

I'm not saying that we shouldn't be out there at all, we should be out there on the streets living by example of being a Christian. Let the lost sheep want the life Christians have and we should let them know that we are there to help them back home to God.

Matthew 7:7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

I want to be there for the lost when they seek, I want to help them find Jesus and I want to help them open that door with all the praise to the our Father, because another lost sheep has come home.

[Heartwashed]

If I were the parent of one of those kids and it was a muslim preaching to them, I would've gone out and imprinted my shoe size on his bottom.

Now since this man was a Christian and from my own life experience, It was people that tried forcing Christianity on me that kept me from seeking and wanting to know God sooner. When a person is thirsty, that is when he/she will seek water. It is like the old saying "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink".

If you really think about it, are we really doing a person any good if we force Christianity on them? (forcing, sounds like something muslims would do) I think God would sooner have a lost sheep come back on his own, then have people going out to lasso them and bring them in.

I'm not saying that we shouldn't be out there at all, we should be out there on the streets living by example of being a Christian. Let the lost sheep want the life Christians have and we should let them know that we are there to help them back home to God.

Matthew 7:7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

I want to be there for the lost when they seek, I want to help them find Jesus and I want to help them open that door with all the praise to the our Father, because another lost sheep has come home.

The man has a right to preach to those kids because of freedom of speech and freedom of religion (i.e. the Great Commission)...however, the constitution is quickly moving out of style.

It is not forcing Christianity on someone to give them a tract or to tell them the gospel for the first time, or even subsequent times. It is only forcing if the person says, "I don't want to hear it and we persist in giving it to them." The man in question was giving tracts to and preaching to High School Students who were open to the gospel. Jesus said, "Suffer the children to come unto me, and forbid them not for of such is the kingdom of God." Unfortunately, an evangelistic disciple's very contact with children could raise questions of motive, because of the possiility, God forbid, that a true pedophile could cite preaching the gospel message as a cover for his actions, the only answer to this being a close watch on anyone who would preach to children. The thing is that it is a very unlikely thing that a pedophile would even know scripture well enough to preach it, because of his sin. The quote written in Billy Graham's Bible holds true: "Sin will keep you from this book, but this book will keep you from sin."

Anyway, the guy in question was preaching to kids mature enough to know what his motives were all about, mainly High Schoolers.

This to me seems to be the case of a real disciple of Jesus being persecuted for righteousness' sake.