"Pastors for NC Children" holding Leandro case "prayer vigil"

Activist groups continue using religion to spur education activism

A group using religion to spur activism in education is calling for a prayer vigil over a North Carolina court case involving education funding.

A recent email from “Pastors for North Carolina Children” (PNNC) has announced it is holding a “prayer vigil for education” at the N.C. Supreme Court on the same day the trial begins in the long-running Leandro education funding case; August 31.

The Eventbrite page linked to in the email gives some more details, such as “inviting everyone to wear ‘Red for Ed’,” and clergy is “invited to wear stoles, collars, or other clergy-wear.”

The details on the Eventbrite page indicate there will be a press conference prior to praying that will be “led by our coalition partners, Every Child NC.” Additionally, PNNC calls for people to show up for the press conference in order to have a “strong presence standing behind the press conference speakers for visual support.”

According to the graphic included in the email, the “prayer vigil” will be held in front of the N.C. Supreme Court at 2 East Morgan Street in Raleigh.

PNNC was formed in 2020 with offshoots located in FL, KY, MS, OK, TN, and TX. The stated mission of PNNC is to “Mobilize Faith Leaders To Advocate For Justice in Our Public Schools In North Carolina."

PNNC allegedly supports the big payout in the Leandro case for public schools, yet is trying to dismantle funding for school choice, specifically the NC Opportunity Scholarship Program. PNNC’s leader Rev. Suzanne Parker has been leading an effort to stop the expansion of that scholarship program in North Carolina with the help and backing of Diane Ravitch’s Network for Public Education.

Finding out just how much backing PNNC has gotten from Ravitch’s group and other sources may have to wait since the organization has only been registered as a 501(c)3 since March of 2021.

More To The Story

Check out the backstory on PNNC and Every Child NC in my previous article,
Activist groups using religion to "support public schools."

Read the history of the Leandro case, the legal filings, and a full timeline of events spanning the past two years here.