By Geoff Oldfather
Martin County columnist
September 18, 2005
Don't you just love slogans?
Like this one: "Open Minds. Open Hearts. Open Doors."
It's the slogan of the First United Methodist Church of Hobe Sound.
But there's a question these days whether the slogan is right for the church.
The church has shut the doors to its day-care center, the First Learning Center, forcing the families of 37 children to scramble for someplace else to put them.
The church announced it was closing the center for financial reasons — a few days after the pastor and board members requested the resignation of a lesbian teacher at the center.
So much for open doors and open minds.
Vivian Throgmorton, the teacher, said she hasn't made any secret of the fact she's gay.
"If people ask me, I'm not going to lie about my life," Throgmorton said.
Throgmorton has been a teacher at the First Learning Center for about four years. Her past two annual reviews praised her work and initiative.
Last year she received "exceptional" ratings in all 26 areas listed on the evaluation form. Her review states in part that Throgmorton "has built a wonderful relationship with the children."
But on Aug. 29, Throgmorton was asked to resign.
The request came one day after Shari Carothers, the wife of a church board member, wrote a letter of complaint to church leaders about Throgmorton's relationship with another center employee, saying they have "professed to be homosexual."
"Alternative lifestyles should not be a position we expose our young children to in a Christian day care," Carothers wrote. "As a parent that sends my children to a religious school, I have entrusted that they have hired and are teaching my children in a Christian manner."
Asked last week about her complaint, Carothers said it was "a private letter to the board."
She said she wrote the letter so the day-care center would be "checked on in a closer manner by the church to see that it was run the way we wanted it run as far as the children's spirituality, which wasn't being followed."
On Aug. 29, the Rev. Jim Trainer forwarded the complaint to center director Patricia Piche, along with a memo in which he raised questions about whether Throgmorton's relationship was affecting other workers and parents at the center.
Trainer said one student had withdrawn and a teacher had resigned because "they were unable to reconcile ... the employment of persons in such a relationship in a Christian-based pre-school."
Trainer asked Piche whether any center employees held beliefs "other than Christianity," and continued, "What measures have you taken to ensure that the relationship ... does not interfere with the quality of education."
Trainer also asked about "alleged accounts of inappropriate display of affection at the workplace ... namely the stroking of hair."
Trainer last week declined to discuss the day-care situation or his memo.
Piche responded in writing to the memo that the teacher who resigned disapproved of the Throgmorton relationship, and that "I have never seen any inappropriate display of affection."
On the education quality issue, Piche wrote, "We convey our faith by teaching the children about love, compassion and forgiveness by modeling it."
Later on Aug. 29, Throgmorton said that "without any warning" she was called to a meeting with Trainer and Piche and asked to resign. The written reason was that she was "lacking in interpersonal skills with other team members."
Throgmorton refused to resign.
Later that week, parents were notified in writing that the First Learning Center was closing because "the school faces an increasing financial deficit."
Piche, in an interview, said church officials never said anything about closing the center until the subject of Throgmorton's sexual orientation came up.
"Before? No. Nobody said we're going to shut down," Piche said.
She said the center received state pre-k funding of $2,400 each for 10 students, and other subsidies.
"There were some financial issues with some parents who do not pay on time, and because I want to have a quality center I was perhaps overstaffed; the ratio was too good, I think," Piche said. "But if we didn't have the other issue, it would have been worked out."
Some parents call the center's closing "a smokescreen."
"Patricia told us she was told by the board she was not allowed to discuss with the parents the real reason of why they're closing the school, which is because Miss Vivian is gay," said Abby Livigne-Baker.
"The school itself is the best I've ever had my kids at. I'm very happy with it. It's the kids who are going to suffer, really," Livigne-Baker said.
Crystal Spurgeon has two children who have been at the center.
She said she'd known Throgmorton about six years and found out last year she was gay.
"Did it bother me? Not at all," Spurgeon said. "It didn't bother to me to think she had been in a relationship with a woman while she was teaching my daughter; it wouldn't have made any difference. She's an excellent teacher."
No doubt there are many good people in the congregation who have strong opinions both for and against keeping Throgmorton as a teacher.
Still, remember the church's slogan: "Open Minds. Open Hearts. Open Doors."
Right.
Martin County columnist Geoff Oldfather can be reached at (772) 221-4217, or at geoff.oldfather@scripps.com 
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