Fallen Trees Do Not Deter Newcomer Clergyman

Nature had a strange but memorable way of welcoming Rev. Paul Gilmore and his puppy, Moses, to New Canaan.

The clergyman was at his new home on Toquam Road preparing to deliver his inaugural sermon at the New Canaan Presbyterian Church on Saturday, March 13, when the power went out at 3 p.m.

On Sunday, the first four routes Gilmore tried to get to the church on Oenoke Ridge were blocked by fallen trees; he finally made it by a fifth circuitous path.

When he got there to lead the Sunday service on that chilly morning, the power was out and there was no heat.

Yet there were 150 warmly welcoming parishioners, the sacred music was sublime and, Gilmore recalled, "It was a glorious Sunday!"

"All things combined," the clergyman said, "the disruptions from the storm were pretty minor in comparison to what has happened in Haiti and Chile."

After the stormy start, the transplanted Midwesterner—born in Normal, IL, and most recently a pastor in Stillwater, MN—is ready to settle down to the serious business of leading the progressive parish, established in New Canaan in 1956.

He succeeds Rev. Gary A. Wilburn, who left in 2007. Rev. Charles M. Webster served as Interim Pastor. With a passion for social justice, Rev. Gilmore follows in the large footsteps of the church's first minister, Rev. Guthrie Speers, who is remembered for leading protest marches and vigils for peace on God's Acre in the 1960s.

Gilmore majored in the peace studies program at Manchester College, and has a passion for civil rights. He has chaired the Peacemaking Advisory Committee for the Peacemaking Program of the national Presbyterian Church.

Now in his early 50s, he recalls joining other clergy and union leaders in his younger years in public protests against bank practices of denying loans to minorities. The protests succeeded in ending the discriminatory practices, a result he found gratifying.

"But I'm not real comfortable on the front line," said the reserved pastor who surprises frequently with his droll wit and dimple-chinned smile.

Gilmore said he has four main goals in his ministry in New Canaan: to continue the church's tradition of providing a religious home that is all-welcoming, to provide a "thoughtful pulpit" with challenging sermons, to carry on the church's strong musical traditions ("Music often touches deeper than words can") and to expand the church's mission of social justice.

Gilmore speaks of how he helped develop a partnership between his church near Minneapolis and an inner-city church of African-American Presbyterians. It involved student exchanges and development of a sewing program that expanded into a small business and is now lifting communicants out of poverty. He hopes to explore options for such partnerships in New Canaan and develop social outreach locally, regionally and globally.

At last Sunday's 10 a.m. worship service, musical selections by the Cherub Choir (children aged pre-kindergarten - grade 2) and the Chimes Choir (grades 3 to 7) preceded Gilmore's sermon, which focused on the power of temptation.

Quoting from Oscar Wilde and interjecting humorous asides, the pastor's oratory was measured and spoken in a slightly accented voice.

Gilmore will devote his free time to tennis, reading and taking Moses—"who brought me to Canaan"—for walks.