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As students prepare for the new academic year, All Souls Unitarian Church will host its annual Back to School Blessing on Sunday, August 18, 2024. This special service aims to provide a supportive and encouraging send-off for students, teachers, and families as they prepare for the challenges and opportunities of the upcoming school year.
In addition to the blessing, Rev. Dr. Marlin Lavanhar will deliver his message “Back To School: Should Bibles Come Too?” addressing the recent inclusion of the 10 Commandments and Bibles in classrooms.
“I am deeply troubled by State Superintendent Ryan Walter’s actions to place Bibles and the 10 Commandments in every classroom in Oklahoma. I’m especially concerned because it is clear he is using this issue to distract from his own mismanagement of funds and from the real and tangible needs of public school students and their families in Oklahoma,” said Rev. Lavanhar.
“I do not think my Southern Baptist neighbors want their children’s Unitarian teacher to be teaching the Bible to them any more than my Unitarian neighbors want the reverse,” Rev. Lavanhar adds.
The service will take place at All Souls Unitarian Church, located at 2952 S. Peoria Ave, Tulsa, OK 74114, with services at 10:00 AM and 11:30 AM. The church extends an invitation to the community, welcoming all individuals regardless of their religious affiliation or beliefs.
A Legacy of Advocacy: All Souls Unitarian Church’s Role in Tulsa’s Public Education
All Souls Unitarian Church has had a long history of engagement with public education in Tulsa and has been a strong advocate for the separation of church and state.
In the 1960s, All Souls Senior Minister, Dr. John B. Wolf, took leadership against TPS Superintendent Dr. Charles Mason when he tried to block the integration of Tulsa Public Schools – those protests ultimately led to Dr. Mason’s resignation.
In the 1990s, All Souls became the first church in Tulsa to adopt a public school as part of the partner schools initiative. And in the 2000s, our current Senior Minister, Rev. Lavanhar, served on Superintendent Keith Ballard’s Faith Leaders Advisory Committee.