Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, December 5, 1993 TAG: 9312030060
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE:
DATELINE: MOUNT TABOR LENGTH: Long
That's his contraction for "rural urban" and accurately describes the Montgomery County church that has served the Slusser/Mount Tabor community for 90 years. Until 1988, members worshiped in a small, white frame building, which now is being converted to a community youth center.
The present Slusser's Chapel at 1543 Mount Tabor Road is modern and spacious for a church of about 100 active members. Gilbert, who is 39 and in his first pastorate after his education at Warner-Southern College in Florida, says membership is nearly double what it was when he came here three years ago. The rural community to the northeast of Blacksburg is filling up with new housing, both single and multifamily. Children from these areas attend the 29-year-old Mount Tabor nursery school and day-care center which brought Slusser's Chapel some unwelcome publicity several months ago.
Gilbert sees the center as Christian-centered, with its teachers using materials for an evangelistic outreach to the community, "not to make little Church of God members." He said last week that this had been the intent of the school when it was opened in 1964. A religious orientation prevailed until a decade ago, when erecting the new building and changing pastors "took precedence over the aim of the school" and it was operated basically as nonsectarian.
When evangelical Christian materials were introduced earlier this year, many teachers and parents said they were unprepared for the change and resigned or removed their children from Mount Tabor.
But the church does control the school's curriculum, Gilbert pointed out, and parents can make a choice. In January, the school will revert to its evangelical emphasis. Since the flap in early summer, enrollment has grown from 38 to 54, the pastor said, proving that Mount Tabor is on the right track and will continue to maintain high academic as well as moral standards.
The school's problems appeared well behind Slusser's Chapel on a bright and windy morning last Sunday. I entered by the flight of front steps which afford a view of the rolling meadows toward Blacksburg. Had I been in a wheelchair, I could as easily have reached the worship area and rest rooms from a ramp from Mount Tabor Road. The service starts at 10:45 a.m. and ends nearly 90 minutes later. Gilbert indicated in his sermon that he is not bound by the usual noon ending time and preached for half an hour on "Wonderful Counselor," an attribute of God mentioned in Isaiah 9.
I was surprised by two things at Slusser's Chapel. Advent was being observed with its characteristic wreath on a table and one candle lighted by a woman from the choir, and, also, that Gilbert in his 10-minute pastoral prayer mentioned the names of a dozen - though not all - Blacksburg area churches.
The Church of God of Anderson, Ind. - the denomination is not the same as the more numerous Pentecostal Church of God with headquarters in Cleveland, Tenn. - follows no central authority; each congregation and its pastor may individualize worship practices, Gilbert noted. When he heeded his call to ordained ministry after a vocation in construction work, Gilbert said he learned at Warner-Southern College of the value of symbols in strengthening Christian belief.
So he told his congregation about the circle and evergreen shoots that denote eternity, of the candles for the light of the world and of the purple for the somber quality of waiting for a child who would some day die for the weaknesses all human beings experience.
Older members of Slusser's Chapel said they have become accustomed to the Advent theme. In the early portion of the service, the Victorian-era hymn, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" was sung by choir and congregation, and both the pastor and laity who read or prayed referred frequently to the meaning of "Emmanuel" as "God with us."
Fresh red hymnals issued in 1989 are in the pews at the chapel along with Bibles. A choir of about 15 was led by Beth Gilbert, the pastor's wife, whose energy matched, if not exceeded, his own. Her strong singing voice and exuberant manner dominated the worship leadership as she teamed with the pastor in a role described as worship leader.
Another Advent tradition appeared in the decorating of a congregational Christmas tree. Soon after my arrival, I was handed an ornament to place on the bare, artificial tree. Gilbert told me to think of Christmases past as we filed up with our decorations. Hearing Beth Gilbert sing the old German carol "O Christmas Tree," and remembering my first-grade son singing that same tune 25 years ago brought sweet nostalgia.
The pastor asked the oldest member present, Marshall Smith, to light the tree, and the congregation applauded as it did later for special music.
The pastoral prayer at Slusser's Chapel included a woman facing a heart transplant and a "Sunshine Family" in the community to whom church members will give Christmas presents because a fire destroyed their home. I asked Gilbert later about his practice of asking God's blessing on churches of other denominations.
That's part of Church of God doctrine, he said. The church's founder in America in the late 19th century felt strongly that competition among believers was as harmful as insisting that any group has the true way to heaven.
The sermon from Isaiah reflected Gilbert's thinking on God - and God's later incarnation in Jesus Christ - as a man of gentleness, wisdom, peace, approachability, attractiveness and effectiveness.
He was no wimp, said the pastor, though many in the church have made him seem so.
"We have trimmed the claws of the lion of Judah . . . no meek and mild little pet" but a man people could count on to be mentally balanced, easy to talk to, clever and even humorous as he deflected efforts to trap him, said Gilbert.
Jesus specialized in "people who live in a Macadamia resort," Gilbert's name for outcasts, neurotics and the many who barely cope with daily pressures. He gave them peace and assurance of a meaningful life in a way no human counselor can, the pastor concluded.
Sunday Sojourner appears monthly in the New River Current. Its purpose is not to promote a particular point of view but to inform readers of a variety of worship styles.
by CNB