The January 29 march generated a fair amount of media coverage. Below are several of the stories:

• WORLDmag.com | NYC pastor faces eviction from community he loves to serve (Profile of Abounding Grace pastor Richard Del Rio and 20/20 executive director Jeremy Del Rio).
• Huckabee: War on common sense? (From Mike Huckabee’s opening monologue: ”Now that same city recently arrested New York City pastors and Christians because they peacefully protested an idiotic decision by the same heavy-handed Mayor to no longer allow unused public school buildings to be used by local churches.”)
• Massive march for fairness to NYC churches › A Journey through NYC religions
• Worshipers Blast Ban On Rented Space At City Schools > NY1 (Includes an interview with Jeremy Del Rio)
• http://www.news12.com/articleDetail.jsp?articleId=305734&position=1&news_type=news (News 12 coverage includes overhead helicopter footage.)
• Rally For Religious Gathering In Schools >Fox 5
• Hunger strike ends, fasting begins. Worship in public school controversy enters new stage on Sunday.
• Fernando Cabrera Marching Across The Brooklyn Bridge To Protest Ban On Churches Renting School Space
• http://www.amny.com/share/1.812039/1.3488614 (“It’s unnecessarily discriminatory against Houses Of Worship in New York City,” City Comptroller and John Liu told amNewYork.)
• Let religious groups rent NYC schools > NY Post
• Thousands March To Protest Ban On Using Public Schools For Religious Services > CBS 2

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Join 20/20 Vision for Schools on Sunday, January 29 at 3:30 pm, as we march across the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall in solidarity with 68 congregations the City is presently evicting from schools on February 12.

Following 20/20 Vision for Schools’ Statement on the School/Church Eviction Controversy on January 12th, here are links to various media reports, as well as several embedded videos.

Watch CNN’s coverage here.

Jeremy Del Rio of 20/20 Vision for Schools believes that the ban will hurt low-income communities where most of the 68 congregations affected by the ban are located. “Mayor Bloomberg believes that children in New York City can’t tell the difference between the church that rents the building on Sundays and the academic instruction that takes place Monday through Friday. New York is smarter than that. Our children are smarter than that. They know the difference.”

GOLDEN LEGISLATION ALLOWING USE OF SCHOOLS FOR WORSHIP SERVICES PASSES SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE

Cabrera: “We are optimistic.” | WORLD New York

NYC Worship Protests Intensify

NYC Clergy/Councilman protest of DOE (Youtube Video link)

NYC’s senseless slap at prayer (NY Post)

Protest movement grows, Bronx Pastor willing to die to oppose city policy against churches meeting

NYC Press Conference 01/18/12 (Vimeo video link)

NYC Press Conference 01/18/12 from Christian Monzon on Vimeo.

WNYC News Blog – Clergy, Politicians Protest Ban on Worship in Public Schools

Perp Walk for Praying (Youtube video link)

Waves of pastors, professors, politicians, lay people arrested at Bloomberg’s annual State of City

At least 30 arrested at rally against public space service ban (News 12 video link)

City Council Members Make the Case For Houses Of Worship in Closed Public Schools (NY1 video link)

Temperature check: how the crowd outside see the Bloomberg administration

For the last couple of years churches have worked as partners with many city public schools. Jeremy Del Rio of 20/20 Vision warned that the churches cannot let the conflict with the city government to reduce their focus on the important role that churches are playing in sustaining and improving their communities. “The biggest challenge is that we have reduced the relationship between churches and schools to a landlord tenant relationship. We’re not just tenants in buildings, but were partners in the transformation of our schools.”

Churches Change Tactics to Fight Ouster From N.Y.C. Schools (NY Times)

New York City Church Leaders Arrested Fighting for Right to Worship

Clergymen in Cuffs as Protesters Are Arrested (NY Times Cityroom Blog)

Register here.

1) “Mission Critical: Reaching a Generation One School at a Time”
Monday May 11, 7-9 PM
Hosted by The Coalition of Urban Youth Workers
Kings College @ The Empire State Building
Details and RSVP here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=190422175726

2) “Partnering with Schools: How Churches Can Reach Youth through Schools”
Thursday, May 14, 10 AM -12 PM
Hosted by World Vision NY at the South Bronx Storehouse
Details and RSVP here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=190422175726

See you there!

BONUS: Don’t forget the LEVEL 3 Mentoring training May 29-30. Scholarships available. Email Edwin Pacheco for details.

The NYC National Church Adopt-A-School Initiative Training

(A Collaboration of Tony Evans’ Urban Alternative & 20/20 Vision for Schools)

Download Flier

Date: Thursday April 30 – Saturday May 2, 2009
Time: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Location: American Bible Society 1865 broadway – New York, NY 10023
Contact: Edwin Pacheco, Jr @ 347.526.2697 or e-mail EPacheco@NYCLeadership.com

Registration fee:
$100 per person
Toolkit: $200 per group
Groups: 3 people + 1 toolkit = $500

[Level 3 Best Practice Series: Launching a Safe and Effective Mentoring Program]

Mentoring Ministry Training

(A Collaboration of Christian Association of Youth Mentoring & 20/20 Vision for Schools)

Download Flier

Date: Friday May 29 – Saturday May 30, 2009
Time: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Location: Gateway City Church – 267 bay Ridge Ave – Brooklyn, NY 11220
Contact: Edwin Pacheco, Jr. @ 347.527.2697 or e-mail EPacheco@NYCLeadership.com

Registration fee:
$150 (group discounts and scholarship provided)