do you know if this story is ture? I received it on email...?

Question

THE SNEEZE
They walked in tandem, each of the ninety-two students filing into
the already crowded auditorium With rich maroon gowns flowing and
the traditional caps, they looked almost as grown up as they felt.

Dads swallowed hard behind broad smiles, and Moms freely brushed
away tears.

This class would not pray during the commencements----not by choice,
but because of a recent court ruling prohibiting it.

The principal and several students were careful to stay within the
guidelines allowed by the ruling. They gave inspirational and
challenging speeches, but no one mentioned divine guidance and no
one asked for blessings on the graduates or their families.

The speeches were nice, but they were routine.....until the final
speech received a standing ovation.

A solitary student walked proudly to the microphone. He stood still
and silent for just a moment, and then, it happened. All 92
students, every single one of them, suddenly SNEEZED!!!!

The student on stage simply looked at the audience and said, " GOD
BLESS YOU, each and every one of you!" And he walked off stage...

The audience exploded into applause. The graduating class found a
unique way to invoke God's blessing on their future with or without
the court's approval.

Isn't this a wonderful story? Pass it on to all your
friends.........and

GOD BLESS YOU!!!!

In God We Trust, United We Stand.

This is a true story; happened at the University of Maryland. It's
inspiring.

sorry for the misspell of true :-(
and thanks very much for the great info...

Answer 1

Beware of gossip. The truth gets distorted greatly.

Answer 2

It is true. Whenever you get one of those emails, check out the site below. It's great for seperating urban legends from truth.

The facts of the story are these: The incident the e-mail is based upon took place on 20 May 2001 during the commencement exercises at Washington Community High School in Washington, Illinois. With the help of the ACLU, the family of Natasha Appenheimer, that year's valedictorian, brought suit to prevent the inclusion of the invocation and benediction traditionally given at the school's commencement ceremony. The suit was decided in the favor of the Appenheimers when, three days before the ceremony, the court handed down a temporary injunction barring the inclusion of the prayers on the basis of their having been deemed "school sponsored" (and thereby an unconstitutional violation of the first amendment's "establishment clause"). Though the school had said it would contest the ruling that barred it from sponsoring prayer at its graduation ceremonies, it dropped such plans in July 2001 once it came to some appreciation of how much such a legal battle might cost.

People were angered by the decision, which overturned a tradition of 80 years' standing at Washington Community High. Many found unique ways of protesting the judge's ruling. Before the ceremony, students organized a prayer vigil around the school's flagpole. Some 50 seniors clasped hands in a circle while about 150 underclassmen and members of the community encircled them. Several students festooned their mortarboards with religious slogans: "I'm praying now," "Amen," "1 nation under God," "I will still pray 2 day," and "Let's Pray 01." One parent distributed 120 homemade wood-and-nail crosses among the students.

Yet it was the act of Ryan Brown, a member of the graduating class who was scheduled to give a speech during the event, that is now celebrated in the e-mail forward. As his form of protest, he had worked it out with a handful of friends that when he faked a sneeze at the podium, they were to cry out "God bless you." The plan was carried out as envisioned, with everyone who had been in on it playing their assigned parts. (Mr. Brown also made another protest on his way to the podium — he stopped to bow in silent prayer, an act that prompted the audience to stand and applaud. He replied to the crowd, "Don't applaud for me, applaud for God.")

Answer 3

It is true for the most part. It was not at the University of Maryland (92 students graduating at a major national university?). Check the link for the real scoop (and go there for any others you are sent).

Answer 4

If they want to pray, how about they pray before they get to the stadium? If students want to pray, there is absolutely nothing preventing them from doing so. What is prevented is a prayer led by others for the whole class to participate in.

Matthew 6:5-6
And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father in secret shall reward thee openly.

Answer 5

God bless America! We need it. And, if you are so against it, have you ever searched yourself to see why yuou are so against something that someone else is doing? Does it even affect you in the slightest way? Who knows, you might just be getting prayed for.

Answer 6

Bit peculiar. So someone sneezes and and a automatic God bless you surfaces. Must of been pre-organized.

Answer 7

Thanx for sharing that. Very inspiring! God bless.

Answer 8

This is BASED on a true story, see complete answer at Snopes:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/sneeze.asp

Answer 9

If it's on the Internet, it must be true... Oh wait a minute, it has to be written in a book first... My bad..

Answer 10

Check the internet or ask around