An apprentice church worker invited to speak at a top Queensland school allegedly told 12 and 13-year-olds they faced eternal suffering in hell for being gay, in a message that has sparked outrage among parents and children.
The backlash has prompted St Peters Lutheran College, in Indooroopilly, to review the service and the school’s processes for selecting external speakers.
However Jonathan Vickers, a gospel worker in training at the evangelical St Lucia Bible church, says his words were taken out of context.
Mr Vickers spoke to year 7 and 8 students at the school last week.
A parent whose child heard the sermon said it alluded to the idea if students were gay or waited too long to become Christian they would go to hell.
The parent described the message as dangerous at a time when so many teenagers were insecure and grappling with anxiety.
The school itself has sent three memos to parents since the August 27 event.
One of those memos said several students expressed concerns about views, which caused discomfort and confusion relating to sexuality in particular.
“We also have many community members who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community,” the email from year 7 and 8 co-ordinator Helena Lambert said.
Another email from head of college Tim Kotzar and deputy head of college Lisa Delaney said homophobic language, discrimination, vilification or the demeaning of another person was inconsistent with the expectations the school held for its community.
“It is also important that we distinguish between the intentions of the young person who spoke in chapel and the impact of aspects of their message,” they stated.
“We understand that they came to St Peters intending to share their personal faith journey. Our concern is not about condemning a young person for expressing their faith.
“Rather, it is our responsibility as a college to recognise when particular messages have caused harm or do not appropriately reflect the theological and educational context in which we minister to young people, and to respond accordingly.”
Mr Vickers, in a statement, said he had not targeted any particular group or sexuality and that some reports had “taken things out of context”.
“But all students were urged to repent of their sins and put their faith in Jesus,” he said.
“St Peters advertises very clearly that they are a Christ-centred community, so a talk based on Jesus’ words should be unremarkable.”
Mr Kotzar said the school was now reviewing the circumstances surrounding the service, including the processes for selecting external speakers.
“The College recognises and regrets that some comments in the presentation caused genuine concerns for members of our community,” Mr Kotzar said.
“As a Lutheran school, we believe that every person is loved by God, and the dignity and worth of each person is not conditional upon their background, beliefs, identity, sexuality or circumstances.”
Mr Kotzar said the college did not support any message that could be interpreted as diminishing dignity, respect or belonging for any member of its community.
“Nor do we believe faith should be communicated through fear or shame.”
Education Minister John-Paul Langbroek on Friady labelled the incident “unacceptable.”
“We want all students in our school systems, whether they’re non-state or state to feel safe,” Mr Langbroek said.
Asked if schools needed to review processes into procuring guest speakers, Mr Langbroek said: “With the uproar that this has created, that school and others will, of course, look at their processes.”
“I’d expect any principal in a state or non state school to be proactive in their communication with parents and students and to ensure that these types of things, as alleged, are not repeated.”
Mr Langbroek highlighted the vulnerability of young children “often going through very complex issues in their own lives”.
“These are things that schools need to keep in mind when they are engaging people to speak with school students.“
When asked about the matter at a media conference, Acting Premier Jarrod Bleijie said young students being told they would face eternal suffering in hell for being gay was “completely inappropriate”.
Mr Bleijie said he was not aware of the alarming comments made by a church worker to Year 7 and 8 students at St Peters Lutheran College.
“That’s completely inappropriate,” he said.