Shame on pastor

Shame on Mark Hamilton, director and pastor of Spokane Christian Fellowship/1Body Ministries, for taking advantage of and then publicly disparaging his church member, handyman George White.

White, who is developmentally disabled, was out of work, so Hamilton allowed him to fix up and rewire his home for free, so George wouldn’t have to sit around not doing anything. Gee, how caring.

It wasn’t clear to White that his pastor was taking financial advantage of him by having him work for free on his privately owned home. Rather, White believed that he was volunteering his time and skills to somehow benefit his church.

Hamilton also oversees White’s disability payments, and it’s no wonder that White’s brother disputes whether or not Hamilton is genuinely taking good care of his brother’s finances.

Then, for the April 20 story in The Spokesman-Review, Hamilton is quoted as saying, “You can’t take everything George says as verbatim,” and that his word is unreliable because he is developmentally disabled.

How cruelly Hamilton has so publicly disparaged a faithful member of his church who has trusted and done much to benefit him.

Dana Freeborn

Spokane