REALITY TV
TV
MOVIES
MUSIC
CELEBRITY
About Us Contact Us Privacy Policy Terms of Use Accuracy & Fairness Corrections & Clarifications Ethics Code Your Ad Choices
© MEAWW All rights reserved
MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

'God has spoken on those issues': LGBTQ+ students NOT WELCOME in Florida's Grace Christian School

The school sent out an email informing parents that gay or transgender students will be asked to 'leave the school immediately'
PUBLISHED AUG 22, 2022
Grace Christian School's administrator Barry McKeen defended the school's policy in a video message (Facebook/Grace Christian School)
Grace Christian School's administrator Barry McKeen defended the school's policy in a video message (Facebook/Grace Christian School)

VALRICO, FLORIDA: A Florida Christian school's email to parents has come under the scanner owing to its anti-LGBTQ views. The email informs parents that from the oncoming school year, the school will be referring to students by the "gender on their birth certificate" and students "participating" in gay, transgender, or other similar 'lifestyles' "will be asked to leave the school immediately."

Grace Christian School, located in Valrico, sent out the controversial email on June 6, 2022. According to NBC, the subject line of the email reads, "Important School Policy Point of Emphasis. ... Please Read." After the contents of the email were made public, the school's administrator Barry McKeen took to Facebook to share a video defending the administration's stance. 

RELATED ARTICLES

Oklahoma girl, 8, kicked out of Christian school over 'crush' on female classmate, asks ‘does God still love me?’

Who runs 'controversial' Agape Boarding School? Student claims he was forced to roll in camel poop

The school's policy does not allow students to be homosexuals or transgender or a number of other things (Facebook/Grace Christian School)
The school's policy does not allow students to be homosexuals or transgender or a number of other things (Facebook/Grace Christian School)

"We believe that God created mankind in His image: male (man) and female (woman), sexually different but with equal dignity," the email states, adding, "Therefore, one's biological sex must be affirmed and no attempts should be made to physically change, alter, or disagree with one's biological gender — including, but not limited to, elective sex reassignment, transvestite, transgender, or non-binary gender fluid acts of conduct (Genesis 1:26-28). Students in school will be referred to by the gender on their birth certificate and be referenced in name in the same fashion."

fghf
Parents have to agree to the policies before the new session starts (Facebook/Grace Christian School)

An orthodox private Christian school, they go further to cite scripture, identifying what is sinful. "We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, transgender identity/lifestyle, self-identification, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery and pornography are sinful in the sight of God and the church (Genesis 2:24; Leviticus 18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; I Corinthians 5:1; I Corinthians 6:9; I Thessalonians 4:2-7)." 

According to Fox News Digital, administrator McKeen explained that these rules also apply to students who are found to be engaging in sexual activity outside of marriage. He said, "We don't expect any of our students who are not married to be sexual, whether it be bisexual, heterosexual or homosexual. I tell people, if a kid came in the doors, exclaiming how he was having sex with his girlfriend that student would be expelled as well."



 

In the video posted on Facebook, McKeen emphasizes what is "rooted in scriptures," and states that students identifying as transgender or homosexual cannot attend their school. "God has spoken on those issues, explicitly, aggressively, and we have had these policies in our school since day number one in the early 1970s. This is not new," he adds. 

A participant holds the rainbow pride flag in the Queerschutz Now! (Queer Protection Now!) march through Karl-Marx-Allee street in commemoration and celebration of Christopher Street Day on June 26, 2021 in Berlin, Germany. A variety of gay pride marches and gatherings are taking place across the city today, each with its own political or thematic emphasis. The marches are taking place close to the 52nd anniversary of the 1969 riots following a police raid at The Stonewall Inn in New York City that ignited the gay rights movement.
A student said she felt like a social outcast because she identifies as lesbian (Omer Messinger/Getty Images)

Parents need to agree to all the policies and procedures stated in the email before their wards start the next school session in August. One parent has been reported to pull out her daughter from the school, saying that while she respects the school's opinion, she feels her child's "wellbeing, right, and mental health is more important." Her daughter, who identifies as lesbian, said she felt like a "social outcast" and that she is happier at her new school. 

POPULAR ON MEAWW
MORE ON MEAWW