Ecru, a town with five churches and no traffic light, is a place that's ready for Christmas. Nearly all the homes are adorned with wreaths and lights, and large colored lights hang from poles leading to downtown.
But a bitter religious dispute has risen up among the holly, plastic angels and wishes for peace on Earth, pitting most of Ecru's 700 residents against a woman who is suing to stop morning prayers and Bible classes in the public school.Lisa Herdahl, a mother of six who moved down from Wisconsin last year, said she filed the federal lawsuit against the school district Tuesday "as a last resort to defend my family's religious freedom."
"I simply do not want the school telling my children how and when to pray," said Herdahl, who has children in kindergarten and grades 3, 4, 6 and 9.
Herdahl says her children, baptized as Lutherans, have been ridiculed by their classmates; her 7-year-old son, Jason, was called "football head" after a teacher made him wear headphones to drown out the prayers broadcast on the school's intercom.
But her yearlong effort to eliminate prayer and Bible study from her children's classes has few supporters at the North Pontotoc Attendance Center, which serves 1,300 students in kindergarten through high school.
"Without prayer I don't know how I'd make it through the day," said Jason Davis, a senior elected most likely to succeed. "I don't see why anyone in the world wouldn't want to study the Bible."
Many parents say Herdahl has caused conflict ever since she moved to their town, nestled in the hills of northeast Mississippi between Oxford and Tupelo, by speaking out at school board meetings and complaining to the school superintendent about the prayer issue.
Her stance has rankled what Mayor Sam Newsum calls a very conservative community and put a damper on the holidays.
"I feel sorry this lady has got the attitude she's got," Newsum said.
At a convenience store several blocks from the tan brick school, Tommy Staggs sold fried potato logs and Slush Puppies, ringing up prices on a cash register emblazoned with "In God We Trust. All Others Pay Cash."
"I think they ought to have prayer," said Staggs. "They did when I was in school, and it didn't hurt me any."
The lawsuit comes at a time when school prayer advocates are gaining support nationally. Incoming House Speaker Newt Gingrich has called for a vote by July 4 on a constitutional amendment authorizing organized school prayer.
President Clinton outraged civil liberties groups by saying he wouldn't rule out the idea. The White House later clarified that Clinton would support a law allowing a moment of silence in schools.