Post-Dispatch Letter on Chaplains in Schools
Board member Hal Harris had his Letter to the Editor of the Post-Dispatch published on July 3:
Regarding “Poll: Most in US support religious chaplains in schools” (June 30 print edition): Coincidentally perhaps, the Missouri legislature has put Senate Bill 49 on Governor Mike Kehoe’s desk. This law would allow public schools to employ or invite chaplains to work with students.
The problem is that the only requirement for these personnel is that they can pass a police background check. There is no degree or training necessary, and there are no limits on their interaction with students.
In additio to the obvious unconstitutionality of the expenditure of public resources to favor a particular religious viewpoint, there is the question of whether schools should be allowing unqualified “chaplains” to be entrusted with providing counsel to students who may be seeking help in a personal or family crisis situation.
Our students expect their teachers to be trained in both subject matter and pedagogy. Schools should provide trained counselors, not self-defined “chaplains”.
Hal Harris
Creve Coeur
The 2025 Cooperative Baptist General Assembly was held in St. Louis on June 24-26, and we were pleased to be the local AU Chapter. Two of our Board members are Cooperative Baptists and both President Cynthia Holmes and Brian Kaylor made presentations. Brian is shown during his talk about how to testify on church/state issues at your state legislature. Church/state issues were prominent at the meeting, including the danger posed by Christian nationalism.
Click on the underscored bill number to see the details and status. Contact your legislator or the bill sponsor to register your opposition or support. Full texts are available from the links. General Assembly adjourned 5/16. 
The Religious Communications Council gave its top award to our Brian Kaylor and his 2024 book, “Baptizing America”, which describes the role of mainline and progressive Christians in building Christian Nationalism. Brian also won an awards for his editorial, “When Jesus Becomes a MAGA Rallying Cry” and for his photo essay, “Our Lord in the Attic”. We are very proud to have Brian on our Board. He is also Vice Chair of the AU Board of Trustees.
Wow! This was a really great meeting at The Center of Clayton, featuring Missouri State Senator Tracy McCreery and House member Brian Mackey, who filled us in on the Jefferson City circus and what they are trying to do about it. especially with respect to critical church/state bills. It was lively discussion with a group of about thirty members and friends. We elected some new Board members, and it was announced that Rob Boston, editor of AU’s Magazine, “Church and State” will be the speaker at our annual picnic. You shoulda been there!
The 2025 Summit for Religious Freedom was in Washington DC, April 5-7. Four members of our Board attended, enjoying and learning from presentations, videos, and discussions with fellow AUers and political figures in Washington. The last day of the event was largely consumed by visits by with our Senators and Congresspersons, informing them our views on church/state issues. April 4 also coincidentally overlapped with a protest march at the Washington Monument, in which many of our conference attendees participated. The photo above was taken before the crowd of over 45,000 had really assembled.
Inside the movement to redirect billions of taxpayer dollars to private religious schools.