The following letter was written by ABC District President Schaeffer to the members of the ABC District. The timeline of events referenced in this letter is as follows:
- June 27, 2018 – the ASC publishes a notice of hearing
- August 13, 2018 – the hearing is held to establish that service had been properly done and determine the schedule for hearing witnesses and arguments
- August 23, 2018 – ABC District President Schaeffer writes a letter about the notice of hearing (not the hearing itself) to the members of ABC District .
I’ll have more to say about this letter in a later article.
ANO
Greetings in the name of Jesus our Saviour!
The ABC District Board of Directors has prepared the attached statement in response to the Alberta Securities Commission’s (ASC) Notice of Hearing regarding the CEF/DIL situation. Please share with the members of your congregation as you see proper.
In His service,
Rev. Glenn Schaeffer
Rev. Dr. Glenn E. Schaeffer, Ph.D.
District President, Alberta-British Columbia District, LCC
7040 Ada Blvd.
Edmonton, AB T5B 4E3
780-474-0063, Ext. 109 (Office)
“Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” – 1 Timothy 6:12
August 23, 2018
Dear Members of the ABC District,
The Alberta Security Commission (ASC) published a Notice of Hearing on June 27, 2018 which makes allegations against the following, and names each as respondents: the Lutheran Church – Canada, the Alberta-British Columbia District; Lutheran Church – Canada, the Alberta-British Columbia District Investments Ltd.; and five individuals who served as officers, directors, or employees of the Alberta-British Columbia District.
We remind you to review the press regarding this matter with a critical eye as:
1. The Notice of Hearing does not contain conclusions and is not a report. It is a summary of the allegations made against the District and others which the District will have an opportunity to respond to;
2. The Notice of Hearing, like any other document created and publicly issued at the start of a legal proceeding, is the first of many steps which will lead to this matter being concluded. Among the steps which have yet to be taken are and/or may be: the collection of evidence, the District’s own investigation, attempts to resolve matters, and a hearing; and
3. The issuance of the Notice of Hearing indicates that this matter is at a very preliminary, and pre-hearing stage. Much like when news readers end reports by advising the listener that none of the allegations have been proven in Court; we ask that you please remember that none of these allegations have been proven at this time.
In a complex financial situation as that faced by the Alberta-British Columbia District, it is prudent to withhold judgment until all the evidence and fact has been collected and presented.
We request that you continue to keep this situation in your prayers.
The Alberta-British Columbia District Board of Directors
Update 2018-08-23: You can get a copy of the original PDF here.
ANO / Lutheran Watch 
Does he not realize that these charges follow more than a year of investigation by the ASC? This is hardly the same as a news report mentioning allegations. This means that after their entire investigation, which included questioning witnesses and examining documents, they believe that they have enough proof to achieve a guilty verdict.
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Marlis – since this letter was written 15 days after the hearing, the author knows exactly what’s going on, what the ASC is alleging, and what they have to back up their allegations. I think this letter is more of a PR effort to try and confuse the general public about what’s going on and put off (yet again) dealing with their role in what happened and continues to take happen.
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It’s really weaselly for the ABC DP to write a letter referring to the Notice of Hearing FOUR TIMES, but then not mentioning the hearing itself had occurred ten days prior to the date of the DP’s letter.
“regarding this matter”… this matter being concluded”… “attempts to resolve matters”… “this matter is at a very preliminary, and pre-hearing [sic] stage”…
“a complex financial situation”… “keep this situation in your prayers”
Vague euphemisms like “matter” and “situation” probably were specified by ABC lawyers.
There’s no mention of or concern for keeping in your prayers the approximately 1,600 ABC investors who are over 70 years old and face the possibility of losing some or all of their savings invested in CEF.
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@Carl – the depositors with < $5K of funds in CEF have been paid off in full. The rest number about 1,000 and have got ~20% of their funds back. The balance is tied up in the land, school, and businesses. How much the depositors get back will depend on what Sage management gets for the various properties and businesses. At this point I don't think the depositors will suffer a complete loss, but it'll be a matter of time before the accounts are fully settled and the full loss is known.
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