The pizza street preachers

All photos by Afreen

The ¨Pizza People¨ started out with pocket sized bibles a couple years ago, located on every street corner by ERHS. Then they upped their game with pizza and, as of January 13, 2026, soft drinks. When they set their stands in front of the main entrance it's common to see the booths surrounded by swarms of hungry, chanting teenagers. They get greasy slices in exchange for reciting things along the lines of ¨god is king¨. But just who are these guys? One  man with a microphone announces, ¨My name is Tim and I used to be an English teacher in Australia. Let god save you!¨ 

Like Pavlov’s dogs, is this group training us to salivate at the sound of the gospel? Having children associate God's word with satisfaction via Little Caesars may sound funny, but I can't see how else this change may turn people to Christianity. However, though they may not be getting any converts, the food has evidently broken some ERHS students’ uneasiness about the Pizza Preachers. 

Ignitum Today, a Catholic social network, wrote that the issue with most open-air preaching is that they don't blend in and form a relationship with their audience. ¨Telling people as they walk by the train station that they are going to hell does no one any favors because it is severely out of context and the rebuke is seen as a personal attack¨. The Pizza People (though still warning eternal damnation on microphones) use a genius method for appealing to teenagers. However, the contents of their pamphlets still raise some eyebrows. 

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ERHS students have mixed opinions on the Pizza Preachers, mainly because of these fanatical pamphlets, their unavoidable presence outside the school, and because of open-air preaching’s negative associations. Though this group uses a calmer approach than what I've seen, they’ve had their moments. Earlier this month, One of the preachers grabbed the arm of a sophomore who had been lured by the free pizza and took him off to the side. Because of his evil eye jewelry, she started preaching to him how he should convert to Christianity. 

The sidewalk is public property, and this group has their right to say whatever they want about their religious beliefs. Not to mention, I think I’d get jumped by hungry students for suggesting they shouldn't be there. That aside, what is the tipping point between exercising freedom of speech and just being intrusive? The general stance has been ¨it doesn't matter¨ from what I've gathered; you can just decline their offers for prayer and walk past them, maybe take a slice on your way, a win for a person of any religion. But when you imply that you have the superior belief system, you imply that others’ – core parts of their identities – are invalid. Historically, nothing good has come from that line of thinking and I believe it’s a harmful message to send to kids who come from so many different backgrounds.