Well boys and girls, all good thing must come to an end. The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away, as they say. As summer inevitably draws to an close, our thoughts turn to going back to school. Malls are crowded as Moms and kids shop for new shoes, clothes and school supplies. To be sure, only the Xmas shopping season could make retailers happier. And speaking of things religious, Landover Baptist Church offers timely advice to help those unfortunate Christian students who attend secular schools.

In what would have been a wonderful deal for students returning to school this fall, the Landover website advertises a some-strings-attached Free Digital Phone offer. Students everywhere will, no doubt, be disappointed that the offer has expired.

In what is very sad news for some students as they return to school in Ontario, Grenville Christian College in Brockville closed its doors at the end of July this summer. The school’s Headmaster, father Gordon Mintz, cites the following reasons for the school’s closure:

Unfortunately, changing demographics, declining enrollment, and increasing operating costs have forced this decision upon us.

My sympathies go out to those students who had planned to attend Grenville this fall. It will be very sad time for them indeed.

Meanwhile, a Globe and Mail article suggests that there may be other reasons as to why the school has closed:

A private religious school that charged up to $35,000 a year for tuition has abruptly closed its doors amid allegations of sexual improprieties and cult practices.

And from a former administrator and wife of a retired teacher at Grenville, there’s this apology. I wonder what exactly it is she is apologizing for. Could it be the college’s practice of forcing students to participate in Light Sessions? Perhaps the answer is to be found in the message board responses of Grenville students to her apology. In fact, it would appear that the purpose of the message board is set up for students to share their Grenville experiences and resultant effects on their lives. From reading a number of posts on the message board, it sounds like many students had a nasty time at Grenville Christian College and continue to have psychological problems as a result. One thread on the board goes as far as characterizing the school as a cult.

And this begs the question: has John Tory thought of a way of distinguishing the, if I may use the term, "legitimate" religious schools from cults in his plan to publicly fund faith-based schools in Ontario? It’s bad enough to think that my tax monies would be used by the Conservatives to fund religious schools, let alone cults.