Pastor Gist

After yesterday's post, I started to get curious--what *was* my old childhood pastor up to? Could I find his pro-choice article? Was he still alive?

As it turns out: Writing, yes and yes. And I really wish I had known him outside of the church full of bullies (my sister and I both stopped going to church because the ADULTS were really rather vicious to both of us...for some seriously unknown reason) and as an adult instead of a child.

Here are some things that I remember about Pastor Gist (Gist with a g as in gift not a juh as in jive or gist):

• He had to repave his driveway. There was an anthill in his driveway. He put down a sugar trail to lure the ants away so they wouldn't be hurt or killed.
• He held "pet service" in the summer; an outdoor church service (instead of the regular service) where you could bring your pets and there was a special sermon for them.
• He taught us how to meditate in confirmation--both how to meditate, going on a mental journey to solve a problem or answer a question, and how to meditate away pain.
• One Easter Sunday instead of the regular sermon, he pulled all his livingroom furniture up around the pulpit. He sat on his chair and said he didn't want to give the regular resurrection story. He wanted to talk about miracles. Specifically, he wanted to talk about how we were all miraculous. Because out of all the eggs and all the sperm and all the circumtances, etc.,etc., we came out to be *us*.
• He taught us about the downplaying of women's roles in the Bible and how that was Wrong--and how strong and matriarchal the tribes of Deborah, etc. were.

I guess I didn't know how liberal he was at the time. When you're a kid it's kind of hard to gauge those things becuase you're not sure, exactly, what it means to have liberal beliefs or not. All you know is what you perceive as fair.

And now he's writing articles. In 2004, he actually wrote an article about gay marriage. And I think it makes some good points:
( Cut for length/interest )

I'm not religious now--nor was I particularly back then--but this is the kind of faith that I appreciate and respect.

And if you want to read his "Soul and the Person: Defining Life" article, it's there. It's not exactly how I remembered it.
And maybe you want to read about the miracle of finding a spider in your soup packet? Here it is.
Maybe his thoughts on Michele Bachmann?
Or maybe on Rick Santorum questioning Obama's faith?

This is likely WAY more amusing to me than it is to anyone else. Consider that my childhood church lies perilously close to--if not within--the MN Suburban Conservative Belt of Elk River, etc. (Bachmann's district). We totally thought Pastor Gist was super-wacky growing up. He was a bit (Ants. C'mon.), but he was also really thoughtful and cool. I never realized.