A British school teacher disciplined for revealing her Christian beliefs about marriage to an inquisitive student recently received an apology from her school after she threatened court action. Vicky Allen, a 51-year-old teaching assistant at Brannel School in St Austell, Cornwall, and her employer announced a settlement hours before a hearing with the Employment Tribunal was
to begin. It read in part: “Andy Edmonds, the Head teacher, has recognised Victoria Allen’s right to share her Christian beliefs with students and has apologised for any upset that Victoria Allen may have felt during the disciplinary process.”
Allen was supported by Christian Concern and its offshoot, the Christian Legal Centre, which has fought many recent court battles for free speech and religious rights. Andrea Williams, founder of both organisations, told news media, “Freedoms in our country are being catastrophically eroded by political correctness and fear…
To describe marriage as a union of one man and one woman is a belief held by Christians, and many others around the world.” Also according to the agreed-upon statement: “The parties accept that some people have deeply held views about the nature of marriage, and that every individual has the freedom to express these in accordance with the law. The School also respects that Victoria Allen’s view that marriage should be between a man and a woman is sincerely held and shared by many others.”
But that was not the school’s initial position when it learned how Allen – a Pentecostal who has worked at the school since 2011 – responded when a 14-year-old autistic boy asked for her opinion on same-sex “marriage.” “He asked me what I believed, so I told him my Biblical beliefs. He asked me out of the blue,” Allen told the Times. Allen told the boy she believed that marriage was for men with women.
The school issued a warning for “acting in opposition to the school’s expectations with regards to equal opportunities.” Vicky’s response “was one-sided and did not encourage the boy to form
his own opinion,” they explained. She was suspended from all duties.
Source: Christian Telegraph; Revival Media
Bible Study: 1 Peter 3:15
MAY: Praise God for this Christian lady’s stand. Pray DEEPER that this case may be a precedent in support of Christians around the country who speak up for truth, especially those openly proclaiming the gospel.