The Rev. Paul Gilmore has only been on the job for a month, but the new senior pastor of Winnetka Presbyterian Church believes he already has a handle on the personality of his new congregation.
Gilmore said the congregation exhibits what he called a hunger for growth in a life with Jesus. That means that the community, numbering between 300 and 350 members, can tackle challenging or uncomfortable social issues in a conversation couched in the language of faith, he said.
“There is a prophetic role in the Christian faith of speaking truth to power,” Gilmore said. “We need to do it so that people can hear that truth and make society more just and more peaceful.
“We don’t shy away from tough issues in the pulpit. Worship is inspiring and music is beautiful, but faith has to have an impact on everyday life, including politics,” he said. “We know we’re not going to agree with each other all the time, but we know we can speak with each other in a civil and respectful manner.”
Gilmore, 62, joined Winnetka Presbyterian Feb. 14, coming back to the Midwest after eight years leading a Connecticut congregation.
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The Normal, Illinois, native originally planned to become a teacher, and graduated from Manchester University in Indiana, before feeling a call to the ministry while at Chicago’s McCormick Theological Seminary. He eventually graduated from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Kentucky, with a master of divinity degree.
He served churches in Texas, Pennsylvania, Illinois and Minnesota before his eight years in New Canaan, Connecticut.
Andy Langan chaired the church’s search committee that brought Gilmore to Winnetka. Finding a successor to longtime pastor the Rev. David Lower, who left in early 2016, was a rigorous process undertaken with the help of interim Pastor David Boumgarden, Langan said.
“We evaluated dozens and dozens of ordained clergy,” he said. “We felt (Gilmore) had the right mix of scholarship, preaching skills, and commitment to mission. He has a very pastoral and caring style.”
Gilmore said he has been impressed by Winnetka Presbyterian’s missions, including those to Cuba, South Sudan and Ukraine, where the church works with members of the Roma community.
Locally, church members are active in programs including A Just Harvest community kitchen, Interfaith Houseand Family Promise, he said.
Quoting from the mission statement, he said that the church at 1255 Willow Road “is a community of Christians who are friendly and welcoming, broad-minded and intellectually curious, and passionate about serving others in Christ’s name.”
Gilmore said he is part of the Winnetka Presbyterian team looking at day-to-day congregation needs. Those include replacement of part of the church’s roof later this year, and planning improvements to its columbarium, he said.
Gilmore doesn’t have much free time, but what he does have he spends with his wife, Jeannick Minet, he said. The two have four sons between them, and Gilmore said he also relishes spending time with a new granddaughter.
He said he is an unabashed sports nut who is cheering on Loyola during NCAA March Madness. He also supports nearly every Chicago sports team, with one exception; despite being happy for the 2016 Chicago Cubs, he said he remains a dedicated St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan.
He said he is continuing to get to know his new flock.
“There’s a very intimate feel to this community, in the way people express their care and compassion for each other, yet there’s also a dynamic sense of diversity as well,” Gilmore said. “I don’t believe in growth for growth’s sake. But I’d love for young families to be attracted to what they find here, and say, ‘I’d like to be part of that.'”
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