
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, December 5, 1993                   TAG: 9312060201
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO APOLOGIZE

Last week you published an ``apology'' from the Rev. Richard Gilbert of Slusser's Chapel Church of God. Gilbert is the person who converted Mount Tabor Nursery School to a Christian school by quietly gaining a majority on the Board of Directors, which then voted 5-4 last spring to institute a Christian curriculum.

As you may remember, the board ordered the staff not to inform the parents until mid-September, after the school was fully enrolled. Parents were given two weeks to decide whether or not to exclude their children. By Oct. 1, 90 of 120 students had withdrawn and 16 of 19 staff members had resigned.

If the Rev. Gilbert considers his letter an apology, then he does not know how to apologize.

He begins by asserting that the church decided to reintroduce Christian material into the curriculum.

The church did no such thing. The congregation was unaware of the Rev. Gilbert's agenda and the Church Cabinet offered no objection because he said any changes would be minimal and few parents would protest.

Prior to the Rev. Gilbert's takeover, the school never had a Christian curriculum throughout its 29-year history as an independent, non-profit organization. If the church had been truly involved, it is likely that differences would have been worked out to everyone's satisfaction.

If apologizing includes taking responsibility for one's actions, then to attribute his actions to the church is not to take responsibility, but to avoid it.

The Rev. Gilbert said he feels just as hurt and beaten up as the former director, staff, dissident board members and parents.

However, unlike Gulbun Esen, the former director, he was not called a heathen in front of his staff and forced to resign because of his religion. Unlike staff members, he did not have to find a job at barely above minimum wage during the holiday season. Unlike some board members, he did not have to deal with an uncompromising power play. Unlike parents, he did not have to cope with losing a treasured second home for his children.

The Rev. Gilbert grants forgiveness to those he feels have sought to hurt him, whether they asked for it or not. Just because he feels beaten up does not mean anyone has tried to hurt him.

To offer forgiveness to people who have been wronged by his actions is both presumptuous and offensive. Surely no one would deny forgiveness to someone who not only expresses regret but also genuinely accepts responsibility.

The Rev. Gilbert's letter appears more as another attempt to escape that responsibility than as a sincere apology for his own actions.

Marta and Gary Downey

Blacksburg

by CNB