to copy in the other parents on an email about Operation Christmas Child

[MrTumblesBavarianFanbase]

DD and DS1's school have decided to do Operation Christmas Child this year for the first time, and have sent a long, gushy letter home with a slip which we have to sign to acknowledge we have read, and return to the class teacher.

I am putting together an email response which I will send to the head and my children's teachers, explaining that it is not as innocent as it appears, pointing out the racist, Islamaphobic elements and the evangelism, and also pointing out that it is a very inefficient way of giving that does not support the communities receiving the boxes. I am asking that they re-consider and perhaps direct the children towards a more ethical and useful way of giving to people in poorer countries. I will include a link to an online article.

WIBU to cc the other parents in on an email like this, given they have all had a letter home from school gushing about the chance for the children to to think about those less fortunate and making it almost compulsory to take part? I am pretty sure most people will take the letter, and the project, at face value and fill the boxes with a warm cosy feeling, (or slightly grudgingly but feeling they sort of have to) not knowing how they are used etc.

Thanks mrtumbles you're a legend!

Just to clarify ... did the school send a mass email with everyones email addresses visible ?

If so, maybe the first place to stop is their information security/data protection officer ....

Lurking no, school never contacts us by email, its always printed letters with return slips to sign, or word of mouth via children. We always get a (paper) contact list given out with every family in the class's home address, home phone number, mobile number and email at the start of the school year. :o Nobody here ever objects, its very useful for organising kids playing, forgotten homework, etc. etc. Not sure if this is a German thing or just a small community thing - everyone knows where everyone else lives anyway :o

Thanks MrsHathaway I'll let it stand, I'm not saying anything they haven't said in print/on their website, although granted I am paraphrasing. Not by much though!

A Christian, Christmas charity event to do with religion. Well I never. Don't be such a bigot OP and let other people make up their minds. Otherwise you would be guilty of what you accuse the charity of.

A charity which has a PR guy who has posted some dodgy bigoted comments on MN.

I don't think that one's so much an accusation as a fact when its in black and white for everyone to read.

Oh, unless that's been removed now too...

NOTHING against Christian charities but this one, and its leader, is preaching lots of shit I don't agree with. First and foremost in the book it hands out to children who receive a shoebox - spelling out to them they are bad, sinners, no hope for them unless they admit to god they are sinners. How old are some of the kids receiving this?? It's just wrong.

Secondly views on homosexuality, AIDS etc. fundamentally against my principles and beliefs so why shoukd I, or anyone who feels the same, support this charity?

I wasn't aware of all this before reading this thread and as a parent would be glad if someone else enlightened me.

If school has sent an email to you all with each other's emails visible they have breached data protection anyway (and could get in trouble for what you might do with all those emails addresses). They need to get with the program and get a mailing list program like Mailchimp that sends out individual emails and complies with data protection on this. I don't know the law on you sending them all an email - but if you received it along with their email addresses it won't be you that gets in trouble for goving out the addresses

Strongly worded letter to head on the actual issue and cc to governors asking how they came to decision.

Oooh iPhone has just let me see other pairs and you are in Germany - I don't know what the law is but its universally a bad idea to send emails with hundreds of CCs wherever you are (and many will be put in the spam anyway)

I would e mail the head and then forward your e mail to good friends with a 'did you know about this?' message.

Marmite - as an atheist I am very happy to support charities of Christians doing good works. I am not happy to be asked to contribute what seems to me (having read the descriptions of the box giving and the more upfront material on the U.S site) to be a bribe in a missionary evangelising exercise. The message that comes across is that the main aim is to convert children, using the boxes.

I consider it to be unethical. To the children they are given to, to the people persuaded to provide the boxes without knowing the full story, and to the people who are the brunt of this particular branch of Christianity's disapproval where it concerns their sexuality etc.

Marmite you are missing the point - they are evangelising their specific brand of very right wing Christianity (anti gay, anti condom, do as we say or burn in hell) and are not up front about it in the leaflets they give out asking kids to fill and donate shoe boxes, so many people don't have the information on which to base a balanced decision - non MNers most people take things handed out by school on face value.

girl school never communicate by email as education in our part of Germany is in a little 1950s time warp, there is only 1 computer in the entire school but the class rep sends out "mass" emails to collect contributions for the teacher's birthday or organise the Christmas Market stall... So there is a precedent(rregularly) for group mails, but not for quite this purpose. There are only 20 children in my son's year group and 24 in my daughter's, and I don't have email addresses for the classes I don't have a child in, so it would have been about 36 families (due to siblings) plus 2 class teachers and the head... Anyway not doing the mass mail now :o

The data protection is a non issue, we all put our names and details on a physical paper list which was photocopied and handed out, so I'm pretty sure we've consented to share the contact details by doing that!

No governors unfortunately. Nobody wanted to be class rep, guess I should have done it, but the meetings clash with my work evenings, and my German is self taught and lacking in grammar so I'd sound a fool speaking in the council meetings parent reps have to attend

The decision appears to have been taken unilaterally by the religion teacher, which is fairly par for the course...

I understand how you all feel, the way people in my community practices Christianity tells us that all ministry and evangelicalism is wrong, so I wouldn't support Operation Christmas Child, anyway. To me, approaching people unsolicited with any opinion would be wrong, because you are forcing your views on to others. So I can't agree with you approaching parents directly like this. I also feel sensitive about the way that Christianity is seen as one big lump and quite often ridiculed, and mocked on this is sight as a load of nonsense. When in actual fact the majority of practicing Christians are nothing like what is often described on here.

Marmite, I see what you say about putting our views to others.

But I am very confident that SP do nit represent the Christian actions and faith of my friends who are Chritians. I think it is important to be specific,

For example I am not: racist, Islamaphobic anti gay or any of the other things mentioned.

Are you reading the same thread Marmite?

Then you don't donate and if people ask why not you tell them, but be careful to give them a factual source to turn to. Then the lines of communication will open up.

Yes Fanny, but those things were linked to Christianity, by way of this group, in the OP and I feel it's important to reiterate that not all Christians are the same as many, who do not practice it do not understand the shades of it.

I'll be honest, in our catholic school most parents are aware of occ, don't necessarily agree with all it represents (though not to the extent of some here) but do it anyway as all the kids love doing it. Rainbows etc all do it you. I'd not be pleased you emailed. You're entitled to you're opinion but don't need to pass it onto others. The occ literature was updated last year (we got it) and it clearly states it's connected to church and that it goes hand in hand with preaching.

Link to hope shoe box appeal are a better option I think. Personally I would want to hear what youve got to say but tell me in person

Marmite I don't think you can have read my OP - it does not say Christians are xyz, it says OCC is. Think you've brought a chip to the thread that is not relevant.

Are any of you anti OCC people going to slam the Samaritans Purse missionaries that are risking their lives trying to help with the Ebola crisis in West Africa? The doctor that contracted it, and luckily survived, works for the Samaritans Purse. Granted their "leader" may have some very dubious views but surely this is just about some needy kids getting Christmas presents and they may never have had one before! And I think if they tried to preach to these kids it would go in one ear and out of the other like it would with my 6 year old.

Blue trees lots of children over think things hugely - being told that bible stories are literal truth by his Kindergarten teacher troubled my 6 year old hugely because I had already told him some people believed they were true but I didn't - he wound himself up for weeks over it. If somebody told him I'd burn in hell for not believing he would have nightmares and cry himself to sleep for weeks - things don't go "in one ear and out the other" with all or most children (unless its something g you want them to remember...)

Working with Ebola patients is laudable, but preaching that condoms are sinful in AIDS stricken areas is something of a counterbalance...