[UPDATE: Turns out this was going on last year too. See this 2007 blog [1]. It also suggests either the organization's leaders are liars, or the organization's volunteers are actually violating their own standards in addition to the law and common decency.]
[UPDATE II: Given that the 2007 article suggests that this is all against the organization's stated policies, in addition to reporting problems to the Park Administration as outlined below...
Turns out the CEF is denying any connection with this practice...see their statement at the bottom.]
Would like to pass along something from the Park Slope Parents List. Seems a fundamentalist Christian group is proselytizing kids in playgrounds without parent's permission:
FYI, the fundamentalist christian groups are back for the season proselytizing to children without parents consent in our playgrounds. Last year CEF handed out candy and coloring books but asked the kids first if they accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior. This national para-church (CEF, Child Evanglism Fellowship) comes to urban playgrounds through local church sponsorship with the sole purpose of converting children. It is actually very difficult to discern if the
proselyters are CEF because they seem to hide behind their local sponsorship. If this practice is offensive to you, I advise you to call the parks department, ask the proseltyzers for their permits and then call the parks officers (they rarely have a permit and they should not be handing out things to children).XXXXX
not against fundamentalist christians, just any form of religious
proselyting in a public playground
This is positively disgusting to me. As a parent I wouldn't want ANYONE to be approaching my kid trying to indoctrinate them on ANYTHING unless they check with me first. Let's also remember this is a diverse community and it is disrespectful to parents to try and convert their children in playgrounds without parental consent. It is also against the posted rules of these playgrounds for any parent to enter unless accompanying kids and it is against the rules for anyone to be soliciting or handing out flyers in playgrounds without permits. These people are breaking laws and disrespecting parents. This is also a safety issue. How do we, as parents, have a clue who these people are recruiting in playgrounds?
Also from the Park Slope Parents List comes a reply from the Prospect Park Press Director:
Hi all: I'm the Press Director at Prospect Park. I thought I'd sharewith the list some basic info on "rules" regarding handing out flyers in public Parks and playgrounds.
1) Any individual or group wishing to pass out flyers in a public park must get a permit from the Parks Dept. This includes those wishing to hand out flyers of a religious nature.
This is NOT a restriction of first amendment rights of expression: the permit process is used to make sure the activity is held in a suitable location (one that does not impede access to facilities, pathways, etc). A playground is not a suitable area for passing out flyers.
[Editor's note: I have seen the NYC permit process be used to curtail First Amendment rights by the Bloomberg Administration. And I have complained about it. In this case I have to say the permit process is logical and a matter of safety and respect for the parents of the children in the playground]
2) Adults in a playground area should be those accompany minors. Adults without minors should not be in playgrounds.
THAT SAID, these rules are enforced with some common sense: an elderly couple enjoying the sun on a Park bench within a playground area is not going to be asked to leave by Park Enforcement Patrol (PEP) or the NYPD. It's also likely that someone passing out flyers in a busy area may not exactly draw the attention of PEP or NYPD officers as a problem needing to be addressed.
IF you observe an individual or group doing something you think may be against Park rules - such as handing out flyers - report it to a PEP or NYPD officer. I know someone posted a note to the list saying they did report the flyering activity it to a police officer, and the officer said he could do nothing about it. The reality is some officers may not be fully versed in Park rules. The best thing to do in all situations is to also call 311 and make a complaint.
Both the Parks Department and the NYPD take 311 complaints seriously. You can also follow-up with 311 on a complaint. If there are playgrounds that need better patrols, calling 311 and asking for such will get results.
As well as reporting their concerns to the City's 311 system, the public can also call the Prospect Park Administrator's office at (718) 965-8951. So that managers can better respond to concerns, please provide the Administrator's office with the date, time and location of any incident you are calling about.
Additionally, contact information for the Parks Department is at:
http://www.nycgovparks.org/contact_us/html/contact.html [2]For Prospect Park visit:
http://www.prospectpark.org/general/main.cfm?target=contacts [3]Best,
Eugene Patron
Pity we have to watch out for this kind of thing. But let me be clear here. To any members of the Child Evanglism Fellowship or any other evangelical organization of any religion: keep the hell away from my kids unless you ask me first.
UPDATE: I talked with the CEF by email and this is their reply:
I have consulted with our Director in the NYC metropolitan area. He has informed me that CEF has done no work of any kind in the parks since last summer. He also told me that CEF will not be doing any work in any of the parks in Brooklyn this year. When our organization does do this work we train our workers to abide by carefully drafted policies and supervise them to see that the policies are followed. We have purposefully drafted very strong policies for the protection of children whom we serve because we are committed to doing our work with excellence and in compliance with all laws.
We are aware of other children’s ministry groups who are working in the parks of Brooklyn. It is my understanding that the workers who were seen last year, operating in what evidently would have been violation of our policies and procedures, were from another ministry as well. We are not planning to do any work in the parks in Brooklyn this summer. I trust that there will be others who will be able to teach children there about the love of God and how they can know Him.
Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
Marshall J. Pennell, Executive Vice President
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