ABC District President addresses Alberta Government over sexual orientation guidelines

President Glenn Schaeffer.

EDMONTON – Alberta-British Columbia District President Glenn Schaeffer has published a letter he has sent to Alberta’s Minister of Education regarding the guidelines on sexual orientation the provincial government has released for schools.

“We commend your desire to provide a safe and caring setting for all students; every child should be safe and protected,” President Schaeffer’s letter begins. “They are of infinite value to our Creator, who forms them in the womb (Jeremiah 1:5; Psalm 139:13-14) and who loves them so much He sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world to die on the cross for their present and eternal well-being (John 3:16).”

“However,” he continues, “the Guidelines for Best Practices: Creating Learning Environments that Respect Diverse Sexual Orientations, Gender Identities, and Gender imposes a form of gender identity that is, in our view, extreme and contrary to natural law. Sexual identity, that is, whether we are male or female, is determined by our Creator; not by us…. This truth is so absolute that the creation of individuals as male or female was an uncontested universal truth until the late twentieth century.”

President Schaeffer’s letter to the Minister of Education follows on a previous letter he distributed to Alberta congregations, encouraging them to make their concerns known to the provincial government and to pray.

While President Schaeffer’s letter to the Minister of Education expresses his disagreement with the guidelines, he nevertheless articulates a need for compassion when caring with those suffering from gender dysphoria and related issues. “Their lives are often haunted by sorrow, confusion, shame, self-loathing, depression, and anxiety,” he notes. “Tragically, their internal struggle is compounded when they are bullied, taunted, and ostracized.” But he expresses concern that the new gender guidelines, rather than helping those suffering from these issues, will ultimately further confuse and harm them.

He further writes that the Guidelines, in their current state, impinge upon the rights of other students. “The Guidelines fail to honour and protect students and their parents who think expressions of the LGBTQ lifestyle are immoral,” he explains. “There appears to be little consideration for those who must make accommodations for what they find to be confusing or morally objectionable reasons.”

To that end he proposes the government consider “more constructive approaches to providing students with a safe and caring learning environment.” Such approaches could include:

• enforcing anti-bullying laws and policies that exist;
• assuring all children suffering from gender dysphoria or an intersexual condition that they are precious creations of God who empathizes with their condition and who provides medical and psychological reparative therapy through therapists and doctors; and
• providing educational awareness to all students of the internal struggles of children wrestling with an intersexual condition or gender dysphoria.

You can read President Schaeffer’s full letter here.

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