Jesus Pizza had its final meeting of the year on Jan. 10. The club has been running for years, meeting during lunch on Fridays in Room 146, but due to budget cuts, it can no longer function.

“Jesus Pizza was church-sponsored,” said sophomore Caroline Fenty, co-leader of the club. “Unfortunately…because it costs so much money to run, it was decided in the end that there were more effective ways to do what Jesus Pizza was doing…and the church pulled funding.”

The club provided an outlet for students to express religion in school. “[Jesus Pizza] helped me learn how to express my beliefs in a respectful way without being judgmental towards other people’s opinions,” said sophomore Alexandre Crepeaux, co-leader.

However, some students were not sad to see the club go. “I think it is sad that [they] attempt to bribe people to believe in God using pizza,” Riley Alfaro, freshman, said. Yiling Liu, sophomore, agreed. “I don’t like it because I think if you’re [going to] have a club on religion, don’t use pizza to market it as a reason for people to come,” he said. “It seems like a bribe.”

Some students question if it the club can even be allowed because Lincoln is a public school. However, Lincoln’s actual policy is that any club may be in existence as long as it does not restrict its membership. “Because [Lincoln is] not a Christian private school, religious clubs are a problem,” Hannah Kwak, sophomore, said. “But it’s a public school, so no one should have their rights for a religious club [violated].”

Other students think that the club was fine as it was. “[Our goal] wasn’t to convert people,” Crepeaux said. “Jesus has been misrepresented in the past, and we were trying to show people what he actually was like.” Fenty agreed. “Jesus Pizza is not trying to force Christianity on people,” she said. “[It’s] just like Jewish Student Union or any of the other clubs at Lincoln with religious affiliations.” Although Jesus Pizza is gone for this year, some students are hopeful that it will come back. “There is a chance we could start up next year,” Crepeaux said, “if we get a new sponsor.”