20 Aug, 2007
Chicken blood sprinkle?
Principal ousted over NYC school ritual
NEW YORK—A public school principal accused of paying a woman to sprinkle chicken blood on the high school in an attempt to cleanse it of negative energy will be fired, the Department of Education said Tuesday.
Maritza Tamayo, principal of the Unity Center for Urban Technologies, paid a woman named Gilda Fonte to lead several Santeria rituals at the Manhattan school during midwinter break in 2006, when students were not there, according to Richard Condon, the special commissioner of investigation for city schools.
A former assistant principal, Melody Crooks-Simpson, said there was a running joke at the school that sage should be used to cleanse the building because many of the students were ill-behaved. But it seems Tamayo took it seriously, Crooks-Simpson told investigators, and had Fonte lead a ceremony at which she sprinkled chicken blood on the building.
Tamayo coerced staff members to participate in and help pay for the ceremonies, investigators said.
Santeria is a blend of traditional African religions and Catholicism and first was practiced in the Caribbean by slaves who were prohibited from worshipping in other religions.
Crooks-Simpson told investigators she didn't attend the ceremony with the chicken blood, but showed up to school a few days later in a white dress to participate in another ceremony because Tamayo said it wouldn't work without her. She said Tamayo charged her $900 for the rite.
Another teacher saw Tamayo, Fonte and another woman, wearing white dresses, performing a ritual at the school while Fonte balanced a silver tray with 40 lit candles on her head, said investigators.
Fonte told investigators she did not practice Santeria. There was no telephone listing for her.
The problem wasn't that Tamayo was performing bizarre religious rituals but that she was coercing her staff to participate, Condon said.
photo courtesy images.google.com & story twincities.com, 8/7/07
Hebrews 9:11-14 (NLT)
Christ Is the Perfect Sacrifice
11 So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. 12 With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.
13 Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. 14 Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.
What does today's God's Story scripture teach us about Christ's sacrificial cleansing for us?
Tyndales's LIFE APPLICATION STUDY BIBLE notes explain:
9:10-14 The people had to keep Old Testament dietary laws and ceremonial cleansing laws until Christ came with God's new and better way...When the people sacrificed animals, God considered the people's faith and obedience, cleansed them from sin...But Christ's sacrifice transforms our lives and hearts and makes us clean on the inside. His sacrifice is infinitely more effective than animal sacrifices. No barrier of sin or weakness on our part can stifle his forgiveness...let the blood of Christ purify your conscience.
Today's story about the principal trying to clean up the school negativity with a "black magic" chicken blood ritual makes us shake our heads at the bizarre behavior of so many people in our world. While this may make us laugh, it should also break our hearts, because it's another reminder of how Satan takes a small element of truth (Christ's sacrificial blood) and twists it into a pagan ritual.
The result is that deceived people continue to be lost and searching.
Do you understand that a key part of God's Story is the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ on our behalf?
How can we connect today's God's Story scripture to our lives?
- Thank God for His loving sacrifice of His Son Jesus. Thank Him for his forgiveness for your sins - every day! Thank Him that you can enjoy a relationship through His grace rather going through rituals.
- Read Hebrews chapters 9-10 for a more detailed understanding of this important part of God's Story.
- Whenever you see your own blood, let it be a reminder of the truth that Christ's blood cleanses you from every sin.
How can we connect today's story and God's Story scripture and our story to others?
- Pray for the students and leadership at that New York school to somehow learn the Biblical truth about Christ's blood sacrifice in God's Story.
- Think about someone in your storysphere who is really interested in God's Story and your story, but they have not yet received Christ as Savior. Use today's story about the chicken blood ritual in the NYC school to start a conversation about Christ's sacrifice. Ask your friend what they think about when they hear this bizarre story? Listen carefully and Jesus will nudge you to know how to share the story of His blood cleansing you from your sins.
- July 2008 [17]
- June 2008 [13]
- May 2008 [20]
- April 2008 [22]
- March 2008 [21]
- February 2008 [19]
- January 2008 [20]
- December 2007 [19]
- November 2007 [17]
- October 2007 [20]
- September 2007 [19]
- August 2007 [18]
- July 2007 [13]
- June 2007 [11]
- May 2007 [14]
- April 2007 [11]
- March 2007 [12]
- February 2007 [14]
- January 2007 [7]
- December 2006 [5]
- November 2006 [14]
- October 2006 [18]
- September 2006 [12]
- August 2006 [17]
- July 2006 [11]
- June 2006 [4]
