The Rev. Gerald McDermott
I was born and raised a Catholic in the Philadelphia, Boston and New
York City areas.
I came to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ in 1971 through the
Catholic charismatic movement during college (in Chicago). After college,
I joined a Christian commune, where I met my future wife Jean. We lived in
Christian communities in Indiana, Texas, and North Dakota. I have been a
painter, a school principal for seven years, and a Baptist preacher for
five.
While a Baptist preacher I yearned for liturgy and began to realize
that the Bible points to the sacraments--that the Eucharist is not just a
reminder, and neither is baptism simply a demonstration of faith to the
outside world. So after a short time as Presbyterians, we came to
Anglicanism and a fully sacramental understanding of reality.
In the meantime I earned a PhD in religion at the University of Iowa
(1989), and got a job teaching church history and the world religions at
Roanoke College, where I have taught for seventeen years. I was ordained
as an Episcopal priest several years ago, and came to St John in July 2005
under "Called to Common Mission," the agreement between ECUSA and the ELCA
to trade ministers.
Since that time I have enjoyed writing books and articles about
Jonathan Edwards, the world religions, and various aspects of the
Christian life.
Jean is an artist; her specialty is sculpture.
Jean and I have three sons. Ryan (28) is married to Darrah; they have a
little one-year-old boy and another on the way. He is a PhD candidate in
English at UVA, and she teaches English at a private school in
Charlottesville. Ross (24) is trying to start a career as a
photojournalist in Charlottesville. Sean (19) is a freshman at Hillsdale
College (MI).
a message from Pastor Gerry
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