WEBVTT

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Thanks for that great
introduction, van. It's an honor

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to be here and to stand here in
front of you. Today at the

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Sisters of the Spirit
Conference. I have some

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presenter jitters about
technology, so please bear with

0ca7f9fc-e057-46ca-b308-b42b1fd788df-4
00:00:17.902 --> 00:00:18.130
me.

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And I also want to acknowledge
thank you for being here in the

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room. And I know that there are
as many and more of you joining

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us by zoom today, so welcome to
my Zoomer friends as well.

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I'm speaking today about the
Reverend Bernice Gerard.

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When I grew up as a teenager in
the 1970s and 80s, I remember

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why Bernice Gerard on TV with my
dad.

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My dad.

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Who had long since abandoned any
church involvement, but he

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called her the lady preacher.
Turn it up, he would say. I like

a02c566c-9de3-42c3-9be2-b11ed6a706e0-2
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listening to her.

b261bb74-b65b-48b3-9f4d-cf3308bd5df4-0
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Gerard was often told that she
preached like a man.

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But did she?

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I would argue she preached like
a woman.

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But like a woman with authority.

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And that was confusing.

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And intriguing for people.

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I think the curiosity and the
intrigue came because in the

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20th century, binary gender
constructions in society and

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church cultures led people to
expect that men were smart and

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logical and in charge, and women
should be emotive and soft.

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And nurturing.

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And Gerard's voice defied all
those cultural constructs.

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Because her authority was not
borne out of her striving to be

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like a man.

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And.

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She also had no time for church
cultures that told women that

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they should adopt some hyper
feminine role dictated to them

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by, oh, I don't know, things
that dominated the last quarter

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of the 20th century and
evangelical and Pentecostal

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circles. Things like love and
respect. I ever heard of that

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book wild at heart? Maybe some
of the men have heard of that.

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For ease, Gerard rejected those
kinds of gendered prescriptions

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that had seeped into church
culture by the end of the 20th

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century. And in rejecting all
that, her voice was so unusual.

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Bernice Gerard lived from 1923
to 2008 and she was a force.

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She was well known as a
Vancouver Pentecostal pastor,

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but she was also a politician, a
university chaplain and a media

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personality.

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And my current project which is
just wrapping up.

021c0d67-cfa0-431a-b444-f66348a3b414-0
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Is writing an academic biography
of her life?

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I'm basing that book on her own
life writing, including her

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autobiographies. She wrote it
more than once, 2 versions.

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But also her sermon notes, her
correspondence and her vast

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personal archives. I am a
historian and I study gender.

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Gerard's life provides me with a
very complex case of how one

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individual negotiated with the
gendered prescriptions that she

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encountered.

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My book is based on an
exploration of Gerard's interior

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world.

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I've often asked myself what was
she thinking.

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Her interior world and her
evolving faith because it did

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evolve. And that evolution of
her faith often found her in

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conflict. Conflict with her own
denominational authorities,

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conflict with fellow believers
in the wider evangelical and

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ecumenical world.

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And also in conflict with her
secular associates.

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At the same time, Gerrard was
widely respected by her campus

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colleagues, her brothers and
sisters in Christ.

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And her political peers.

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People respected her for her
determination and her influence,

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even when they didn't always
share her views.

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The Pentecostal Assemblies of
Canada with which Bernice was

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associated.

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The POC holds up her memory as a
model of ministry to be revered.

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But I will argue in this paper
this afternoon that while Gerard

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shared some characteristics that
were typical of other

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Pentecostal women in ministry,
there are multiple ways in which

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she was not typical at all.

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And I suggest that Bernice
Gerrard was a product of her

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times, whose model?

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Just might not be transferable
across time.

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I also suggest that her ministry
model was provocative.

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And if her voice could be heard
in the current debates in church

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circles about gender, sexuality,
gender and leadership.

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It's debatable whether her
position on these questions

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would actually be welcomed by
Canadian Pentecostals today.

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She was called the Lady
baritone, and I hope to be able

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to demonstrate to you just why.

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I'm so happy.

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So the deepest voice that you
hear in that recording, and if

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we can stop the recording, there
is that oh good, not up to me,

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good.

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The deepest voice you heard
there was Bernice Gerrard, the

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lady baritone.

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After she concluded her
education to become a teacher,

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Bernice Gerard met the McCall
Sisters in Rosslyn, BC, during

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World War Two, where she was
placed as a teacher.

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And the three of them together
formed a ministry trio.

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The girls were warned that there
would be limits to their

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ministry reach, but Gerard was
delighted to recount, after

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traveling for 15 years
internationally with Gene and

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Velma McCall, that they're All
Girl Act. Her words, not mine,

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was not actually a liability
after all. On the contrary,

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they're unusual. Combination of
musical and oratory skill opened

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a lot of doors for them.

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Across Europe, into the Holy
Land, through South America and

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back to North America. Back and
forth across that continent. Up

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and down across the border.
Many, many times they sang, they

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entertained, and they preached
the word.

6c5df1a8-aa1b-4937-be1a-6a55646c854e-0
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And as the right hand side of
this slide shows, they also

6c5df1a8-aa1b-4937-be1a-6a55646c854e-1
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marketed, they sold their
records.

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And they sold books, and they
sold postcards they had a lot of

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hitch to sell. In part, it's how
they financed their itinerant

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evangelism operation.

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So Reese Gerard she then a
voiced for women in ministry.

44a44511-802b-4d1f-9126-c3a8a112c16e-1
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She is sometimes held up to be
that.

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Preaching was a controversial
practice for women in post War

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Canada. Pentecostals take pride
in their heritage as

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egalitarians, pointing to the
prophecies as the other

3345bc91-5148-4822-acc4-92c7fcee04a4-3
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traditions represented here
today do as well. Prophecies in

3345bc91-5148-4822-acc4-92c7fcee04a4-4
00:09:16.873 --> 00:09:21.745
the book of Joel who predicted
that in the last days your sons

3345bc91-5148-4822-acc4-92c7fcee04a4-5
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and daughters will prophecy
Pentecostals were convinced that

3345bc91-5148-4822-acc4-92c7fcee04a4-6
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they were the fulfillment of
that.

440d64bd-5545-4ee1-a331-cf2d63ce330e-0
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Prophecy and the prophecy, of
course, was reinforced in the

440d64bd-5545-4ee1-a331-cf2d63ce330e-1
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book of Acts.

1a6fab5d-8355-4835-9e09-e62fb005894c-0
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The day the spirit fell.

a8bf1b16-b996-4f27-94f4-c6e35538a209-0
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But as Canadian Pentecostal
women today could tell you,

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debates about women's place in
the pulpits are far from

a8bf1b16-b996-4f27-94f4-c6e35538a209-2
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settled. Indeed, the historical
record offers evidence of

a8bf1b16-b996-4f27-94f4-c6e35538a209-3
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undeniable regression in that
regard.

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Today, the POC admits that
within their denomination, the

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number of women who serve as
lead pastors hovers stubbornly

f15c22c1-830f-468d-aaef-0933b5bba5f9-2
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around a very low number, like
maybe 5, maybe 6% of all lead

f15c22c1-830f-468d-aaef-0933b5bba5f9-3
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pastors are women.

d7307d25-5826-403d-b05b-3bae8786e883-0
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And as recently as the 1990s,
and then again just a few years

d7307d25-5826-403d-b05b-3bae8786e883-1
00:10:22.620 --> 00:10:27.115
ago, the national denomination
firmly declared women are

d7307d25-5826-403d-b05b-3bae8786e883-2
00:10:27.115 --> 00:10:31.532
welcome, welcome in all levels
of church leadership and

d7307d25-5826-403d-b05b-3bae8786e883-3
00:10:31.532 --> 00:10:32.400
governance.

7210add8-98c0-4291-8ca6-c9919c2cedd9-0
00:10:34.120 --> 00:10:37.840
If you have to keep saying that,
though, it makes me wonder.

2be41484-7edd-4a0b-a2d9-ec6367843268-0
00:10:39.290 --> 00:10:43.366
And as some of us in this room
could testify, that principled

2be41484-7edd-4a0b-a2d9-ec6367843268-1
00:10:43.366 --> 00:10:44.550
women are welcome.

d156f004-86f6-4f62-b800-63138189bb5c-0
00:10:45.200 --> 00:10:47.910
Is belied by a very chilly
climate.

857a6b21-7d9b-4b60-916c-b51408bbd33f-0
00:10:48.810 --> 00:10:52.635
In many circles, and
particularly in my experience in

857a6b21-7d9b-4b60-916c-b51408bbd33f-1
00:10:52.635 --> 00:10:53.910
church boardrooms.

7e1db364-8960-4bfa-a295-7a2630f3cc72-0
00:10:55.530 --> 00:10:59.753
Despite, or maybe because of
those 21st century realities,

7e1db364-8960-4bfa-a295-7a2630f3cc72-1
00:10:59.753 --> 00:11:04.191
women like Bernice Gerrard are
sometimes held up as models to

7e1db364-8960-4bfa-a295-7a2630f3cc72-2
00:11:04.191 --> 00:11:05.050
be emulated.

d2f25b94-8a95-427f-8628-05338d090fde-0
00:11:05.880 --> 00:11:09.250
But as I will demonstrate, she
was not typical.

c4a5d84d-1e76-4dfe-9344-246f6f3aad90-0
00:11:10.160 --> 00:11:11.310
And I'm convinced.

041ffda7-9d70-4c2a-92b7-51c437e894dc-0
00:11:12.130 --> 00:11:17.191
That districts full of Bernice
Gerards? Whoa. They would prove

041ffda7-9d70-4c2a-92b7-51c437e894dc-1
00:11:17.191 --> 00:11:21.690
to be very difficult to manage,
very difficult for male

041ffda7-9d70-4c2a-92b7-51c437e894dc-2
00:11:21.690 --> 00:11:26.430
gatekeepers, and I think even
pretty difficult for some of

041ffda7-9d70-4c2a-92b7-51c437e894dc-3
00:11:26.430 --> 00:11:30.930
their sanctified traditional
sisters to accept as well.

a17c5dff-f22c-4676-b97b-1c152719bca1-0
00:11:35.790 --> 00:11:39.500
It was typical for Pentecostal
women to be dispatched.

e30d8755-03b6-43ce-bf31-cce7daff22b2-0
00:11:40.260 --> 00:11:45.170
As it was for Wesleyans, as it
was for Salvation Army women to

e30d8755-03b6-43ce-bf31-cce7daff22b2-1
00:11:45.170 --> 00:11:49.924
be dispatched as travelling
evangelists, and this photograph

e30d8755-03b6-43ce-bf31-cce7daff22b2-2
00:11:49.924 --> 00:11:54.522
is a wonderful archival source
that captures the scale and

e30d8755-03b6-43ce-bf31-cce7daff22b2-3
00:11:54.522 --> 00:11:58.575
appeal of tent meetings,
Pentecostal tent meetings.

e30d8755-03b6-43ce-bf31-cce7daff22b2-4
00:11:58.575 --> 00:12:03.252
Meetings would be booked with a
firm starting date, usually

e30d8755-03b6-43ce-bf31-cce7daff22b2-5
00:12:03.252 --> 00:12:07.772
spanning over several days,
however, if the meetings were

e30d8755-03b6-43ce-bf31-cce7daff22b2-6
00:12:07.772 --> 00:12:10.890
particularly successful, if the
spirit.

7def00a7-f06e-4896-8755-fb5e4e414218-0
00:12:11.000 --> 00:12:11.450
Well.

171514af-02c7-47d8-a664-4a5212a639cb-0
00:12:12.090 --> 00:12:16.237
Well then it was very common for
the dates to be expanded for a

171514af-02c7-47d8-a664-4a5212a639cb-1
00:12:16.237 --> 00:12:16.950
longer run.

cfcc4d29-3eb0-4229-877d-0635790efe86-0
00:12:18.590 --> 00:12:22.783
The meetings would include all
kinds of components, musical

cfcc4d29-3eb0-4229-877d-0635790efe86-1
00:12:22.783 --> 00:12:26.556
performances, in this case by
the McCall Gerard Trio,

cfcc4d29-3eb0-4229-877d-0635790efe86-2
00:12:26.556 --> 00:12:30.470
Congregational, singing,
testimony, time and preaching.

2828aaad-d93c-463f-bb3c-d1ec1011f107-0
00:12:31.520 --> 00:12:35.605
And of course, it was typical
for a tent meeting of

2828aaad-d93c-463f-bb3c-d1ec1011f107-1
00:12:35.605 --> 00:12:40.241
Pentecostals to include the
practice of exuberant embodied

2828aaad-d93c-463f-bb3c-d1ec1011f107-2
00:12:40.241 --> 00:12:40.870
worship.

da04a163-20e3-40e9-995d-f890ea6696b1-0
00:12:41.910 --> 00:12:46.700
A central feature was time at
the altar when people would come

da04a163-20e3-40e9-995d-f890ea6696b1-1
00:12:46.700 --> 00:12:50.883
forward for prayer. Success was
measured in reports of

da04a163-20e3-40e9-995d-f890ea6696b1-2
00:12:50.883 --> 00:12:55.674
conversion, yes, but especially
in the Pentecostal experience.

da04a163-20e3-40e9-995d-f890ea6696b1-3
00:12:55.674 --> 00:13:00.389
After the laying on of hands
that might result in speaking in

da04a163-20e3-40e9-995d-f890ea6696b1-4
00:13:00.389 --> 00:13:05.256
tongues and reports of physical
healing. Bernice Gerard herself

da04a163-20e3-40e9-995d-f890ea6696b1-5
00:13:05.256 --> 00:13:10.046
experienced a physical healing
at a camp meeting. Her eyesight

da04a163-20e3-40e9-995d-f890ea6696b1-6
00:13:10.046 --> 00:13:11.720
improved so much that.

6324dc69-1cc4-4512-b8b1-bce16de9a637-0
00:13:11.820 --> 00:13:16.595
For many years of her life, she
didn't even need eyeglasses

6324dc69-1cc4-4512-b8b1-bce16de9a637-1
00:13:16.595 --> 00:13:21.132
anymore. This photo is of a
McCall Gerard Trio at a tent

6324dc69-1cc4-4512-b8b1-bce16de9a637-2
00:13:21.132 --> 00:13:23.680
meeting in Scranton, PA in 1952.

c3fd50a1-ddfa-47e3-b886-d044bf8a494f-0
00:13:24.800 --> 00:13:28.501
By this time, the women, the
McCall Gerard women, were

c3fd50a1-ddfa-47e3-b886-d044bf8a494f-1
00:13:28.501 --> 00:13:32.472
traveling under the auspices of
the Assemblies of God, the

c3fd50a1-ddfa-47e3-b886-d044bf8a494f-2
00:13:32.472 --> 00:13:36.308
largest classical Pentecostal
denomination in the United

c3fd50a1-ddfa-47e3-b886-d044bf8a494f-3
00:13:36.308 --> 00:13:36.780
States.

b5d23517-ccfd-4213-a0a7-5c201e896b60-0
00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:44.193
The McCall Gerard Trio is just
one example of many among

b5d23517-ccfd-4213-a0a7-5c201e896b60-1
00:13:44.193 --> 00:13:48.666
Pentecostal women who traveled
as evangelists, musicians, and

b5d23517-ccfd-4213-a0a7-5c201e896b60-2
00:13:48.666 --> 00:13:53.068
preachers. Most commonly, women
traveled in pairs, 2 by two,

b5d23517-ccfd-4213-a0a7-5c201e896b60-3
00:13:53.068 --> 00:13:53.790
partly to.

8b9aa906-b7a6-45c6-aeb8-639ebae1bebd-0
00:13:55.200 --> 00:13:58.845
Feature their complementary
gifts. One might be the musical

8b9aa906-b7a6-45c6-aeb8-639ebae1bebd-1
00:13:58.845 --> 00:14:01.580
feature, the other the more
gifted preacher.

8f34a40b-124a-4a88-9676-c81271a2387a-0
00:14:03.130 --> 00:14:07.479
But no doubt they travelled in
pairs, partly for their own

8f34a40b-124a-4a88-9676-c81271a2387a-1
00:14:07.479 --> 00:14:10.870
safety as well, and, of course,
to economize.

54a9c79c-d05f-474f-b7fa-3fd21be17ce8-0
00:14:12.090 --> 00:14:15.981
Examples of famous Canadian
Pentecostal preaching pairs

54a9c79c-d05f-474f-b7fa-3fd21be17ce8-1
00:14:15.981 --> 00:14:20.149
abound. The 4C sisters from
Newfoundland, the Davis Sisters

54a9c79c-d05f-474f-b7fa-3fd21be17ce8-2
00:14:20.149 --> 00:14:24.110
in New Brunswick, the argue
sisters in Winnipeg, to name

54a9c79c-d05f-474f-b7fa-3fd21be17ce8-3
00:14:24.110 --> 00:14:28.487
just a few Canadian examples.
And of course, the best known of

54a9c79c-d05f-474f-b7fa-3fd21be17ce8-4
00:14:28.487 --> 00:14:32.864
all the Canadian examples would
be none other than sister Amy,

54a9c79c-d05f-474f-b7fa-3fd21be17ce8-5
00:14:32.864 --> 00:14:36.894
Amy Semple McPherson, who
famously drove her car herself,

54a9c79c-d05f-474f-b7fa-3fd21be17ce8-6
00:14:36.894 --> 00:14:41.202
accompanied by her mother. So
that's why I can count her as a

54a9c79c-d05f-474f-b7fa-3fd21be17ce8-7
00:14:41.202 --> 00:14:41.550
pair.

3c1f1301-a682-4fb8-89a3-cd15ba010c8b-0
00:14:41.840 --> 00:14:45.530
She drove that car across North
America and is thought to be the

3c1f1301-a682-4fb8-89a3-cd15ba010c8b-1
00:14:45.530 --> 00:14:48.710
first woman ever to complete
that motor vehicle travel.

60b26422-425c-4102-a305-754e58a5febe-0
00:14:49.980 --> 00:14:52.890
She did it accompanied by her
mum and her kids.

a4814e23-4efb-4a42-8f73-2ec6bc778baf-0
00:14:54.250 --> 00:14:59.908
Bruce Gerard travelled with the
McCall Sisters from 1945 to

a4814e23-4efb-4a42-8f73-2ec6bc778baf-1
00:14:59.908 --> 00:15:00.380
1958.

d331e0e4-59f8-41ea-a475-bc213769c313-0
00:15:01.640 --> 00:15:05.953
When Gene McCall accepted a
marriage proposal, well, Bernice

d331e0e4-59f8-41ea-a475-bc213769c313-1
00:15:05.953 --> 00:15:06.660
continued.

be9addac-5dae-488f-b62a-184cace9f229-0
00:15:07.320 --> 00:15:11.590
With Velma as her partner and
this photograph shows the very

be9addac-5dae-488f-b62a-184cace9f229-1
00:15:11.590 --> 00:15:15.230
latest in Pentecostal tent
meeting technology. That

be9addac-5dae-488f-b62a-184cace9f229-2
00:15:15.230 --> 00:15:19.360
structure is called the cloud
tent, and it was inflatable.

8d91dbe9-dcd6-4940-92f6-33386aef0772-0
00:15:20.290 --> 00:15:24.506
Easier for the women to erect
it. And also in the picture you

8d91dbe9-dcd6-4940-92f6-33386aef0772-1
00:15:24.506 --> 00:15:28.451
see the recreational vehicle
where Velma and Bernice live

8d91dbe9-dcd6-4940-92f6-33386aef0772-2
00:15:28.451 --> 00:15:31.580
together and their car. I think
it's a Chevy.

209d64d9-562c-45a2-bd1c-000793a67154-0
00:15:33.040 --> 00:15:37.380
What was not typical about
Bernice and Velma? They weren't

209d64d9-562c-45a2-bd1c-000793a67154-1
00:15:37.380 --> 00:15:41.280
sisters biologically, and their
partnership endured.

e10e8e60-7afe-4791-b56d-41ec4782a86f-0
00:15:42.340 --> 00:15:46.102
For the whole, their whole
lives, the rest of their lives,

e10e8e60-7afe-4791-b56d-41ec4782a86f-1
00:15:46.102 --> 00:15:50.311
long after the travel had ended,
they literally remained partners

e10e8e60-7afe-4791-b56d-41ec4782a86f-2
00:15:50.311 --> 00:15:51.970
until death did them part.

2d1b2309-8be6-4e2a-b930-1dff934d9df3-0
00:15:55.680 --> 00:15:58.789
Bernice and Velma shared a
church. Together, they Co

2d1b2309-8be6-4e2a-b930-1dff934d9df3-1
00:15:58.789 --> 00:16:01.840
pastored a Vancouver church
called the Fraser View.

4468e870-b51b-4a80-ac81-7de08943e5cd-0
00:16:03.950 --> 00:16:08.587
And after Velma's husband died,
Bernice and she continued their

4468e870-b51b-4a80-ac81-7de08943e5cd-1
00:16:08.587 --> 00:16:12.861
shared ministry, remaining
partners until the end. The end

4468e870-b51b-4a80-ac81-7de08943e5cd-2
00:16:12.861 --> 00:16:15.760
for Velma in 2007, for Bernice
in 2008.

e3e47cf5-da6f-49d8-8dc1-dadc4f50d503-0
00:16:17.110 --> 00:16:21.035
They were partners before Velma
got married, during the time

e3e47cf5-da6f-49d8-8dc1-dadc4f50d503-1
00:16:21.035 --> 00:16:24.767
that Velma was married, and
after the time that Velma was

e3e47cf5-da6f-49d8-8dc1-dadc4f50d503-2
00:16:24.767 --> 00:16:25.990
had become a widow.

08d5d5df-2946-4764-8347-014026f3657e-0
00:16:28.170 --> 00:16:33.175
And in my book, I go there, I
speculate about the nature of

08d5d5df-2946-4764-8347-014026f3657e-1
00:16:33.175 --> 00:16:34.760
their relationship.

ffaca98b-e6b1-47f7-87bc-e8766b9c8ca0-0
00:16:35.420 --> 00:16:36.900
Please ask me about that later.

d91b6c97-6e45-4941-bd01-a702624019b1-0
00:16:40.700 --> 00:16:44.739
When Pentecostal women like
Gerard entered into formal

d91b6c97-6e45-4941-bd01-a702624019b1-1
00:16:44.739 --> 00:16:49.071
ministry, they needed the
endorsement of male gatekeepers.

d91b6c97-6e45-4941-bd01-a702624019b1-2
00:16:49.071 --> 00:16:53.698
As the McCall Gerard Trio soon
learned, they could not succeed

d91b6c97-6e45-4941-bd01-a702624019b1-3
00:16:53.698 --> 00:16:54.800
as freelancers.

bd6a8c1e-da76-4cf5-a32f-3084c362c269-0
00:16:56.500 --> 00:16:59.820
Not without their orthodoxy
being questioned.

3ea06624-231f-4323-86eb-a244aeefff9f-0
00:17:00.930 --> 00:17:05.447
Now, it was typical, as I've
said, for these women to need

3ea06624-231f-4323-86eb-a244aeefff9f-1
00:17:05.447 --> 00:17:09.199
the endorsement of male
gatekeepers. But in this

3ea06624-231f-4323-86eb-a244aeefff9f-2
00:17:09.199 --> 00:17:13.641
particular case, here's why. The
McCall Sisters were from

3ea06624-231f-4323-86eb-a244aeefff9f-3
00:17:13.641 --> 00:17:18.388
Saskatchewan, and it was the
1940s, and Pentecostals among us

3ea06624-231f-4323-86eb-a244aeefff9f-4
00:17:18.388 --> 00:17:20.150
know that in the 1940s.

128559b6-d6ce-4bcd-b9c3-4e9562033bd9-0
00:17:21.770 --> 00:17:26.027
There was a big heresy. At least
it was regarded as heresy by

128559b6-d6ce-4bcd-b9c3-4e9562033bd9-1
00:17:26.027 --> 00:17:30.422
some Pentecostals called Oneness
Pentecostalism, and that's the

128559b6-d6ce-4bcd-b9c3-4e9562033bd9-2
00:17:30.422 --> 00:17:33.787
tradition that the McCall
sisters hailed from in

128559b6-d6ce-4bcd-b9c3-4e9562033bd9-3
00:17:33.787 --> 00:17:37.975
Saskatchewan. Sometimes it's
called the Jesus only movement,

128559b6-d6ce-4bcd-b9c3-4e9562033bd9-4
00:17:37.975 --> 00:17:41.890
so that big debate about
Trinitarianism was a liability.

6a4d30bd-ce70-4562-8a98-69264ab54a85-0
00:17:43.070 --> 00:17:46.929
But I have other explanations
for why I think these women

6a4d30bd-ce70-4562-8a98-69264ab54a85-1
00:17:46.929 --> 00:17:51.055
encountered resistance on the
road. I think it's because they

6a4d30bd-ce70-4562-8a98-69264ab54a85-2
00:17:51.055 --> 00:17:55.380
were too good at what they did.
I think the success they enjoyed

6a4d30bd-ce70-4562-8a98-69264ab54a85-3
00:17:55.380 --> 00:17:59.040
posed a threat of competition,
tent meeting offerings.

72ec296f-8105-4e43-81a7-454dc632f292-0
00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:03.320
Directed to these women meant
those same dollars.

d8f067d9-d5e8-45ae-beb0-3c207203fa31-0
00:18:04.030 --> 00:18:08.590
Were not. They were missing from
the collection plates of local

d8f067d9-d5e8-45ae-beb0-3c207203fa31-1
00:18:08.590 --> 00:18:09.160
pastors.

10940ccd-9711-4265-92ac-2756a84a10ef-0
00:18:10.380 --> 00:18:14.543
And rumors of heresy spread, and
it drove the women to embrace an

10940ccd-9711-4265-92ac-2756a84a10ef-1
00:18:14.543 --> 00:18:18.391
organizational culture and seek
approval from authorities so

10940ccd-9711-4265-92ac-2756a84a10ef-2
00:18:18.391 --> 00:18:21.230
they would have a kind of brand
recognition.

c1f05a9d-f867-4f1d-bf10-27c09358d938-0
00:18:22.950 --> 00:18:26.587
Of a well known denomination
that could open doors and

c1f05a9d-f867-4f1d-bf10-27c09358d938-1
00:18:26.587 --> 00:18:30.489
provide networks for their
continued bookings and for that

c1f05a9d-f867-4f1d-bf10-27c09358d938-2
00:18:30.489 --> 00:18:34.258
very reason. 1 Canadian
Pentecostal Authority, very well

c1f05a9d-f867-4f1d-bf10-27c09358d938-3
00:18:34.258 --> 00:18:38.292
known in Southern Ontario, the
Reverend JH Blair. He vouched

c1f05a9d-f867-4f1d-bf10-27c09358d938-4
00:18:38.292 --> 00:18:41.996
for the McCall Gerard Trio and
he wrote them letters of

c1f05a9d-f867-4f1d-bf10-27c09358d938-5
00:18:41.996 --> 00:18:45.699
introduction. Don't worry about
them, he said. They are

c1f05a9d-f867-4f1d-bf10-27c09358d938-6
00:18:45.699 --> 00:18:49.799
Orthodox, solid Bible teachers
and great musicians. They're a

c1f05a9d-f867-4f1d-bf10-27c09358d938-7
00:18:49.799 --> 00:18:53.040
delight. They will not challenge
your authority.

813879ed-e9ba-4a57-b304-79f14125ac8c-0
00:18:53.110 --> 00:18:53.590
Faster.

da233c3b-a6eb-4bae-b139-63a6433c7c63-0
00:18:54.460 --> 00:18:58.130
It's OK have them to your church
or your community.

a56f66dc-58fe-47d1-a2e8-0d6be6f4e36f-0
00:18:59.950 --> 00:19:04.800
Reverend JH Blair also mentored
these women and he advised them

a56f66dc-58fe-47d1-a2e8-0d6be6f4e36f-1
00:19:04.800 --> 00:19:09.500
you would be very wise, he said,
to seek a formal ordination.

8809d1ce-1db2-4bba-819e-53fa6fbf47a0-0
00:19:11.800 --> 00:19:16.086
You should do it through the
Assemblies of God. In the US

8809d1ce-1db2-4bba-819e-53fa6fbf47a0-1
00:19:16.086 --> 00:19:20.446
they're dating women, and
pictured here is Bernice Gerard,

8809d1ce-1db2-4bba-819e-53fa6fbf47a0-2
00:19:20.446 --> 00:19:23.920
certificate of ordination for
the year 194849.

c2871d2a-a8d9-48e9-8d61-94d944262020-0
00:19:25.020 --> 00:19:30.686
That's not typical. Canadian POC
did not ordain women before the

c2871d2a-a8d9-48e9-8d61-94d944262020-1
00:19:30.686 --> 00:19:31.210
1980s.

5e11f6de-d5ec-4567-9367-05bfc9b7ed40-0
00:19:32.380 --> 00:19:35.230
But perhaps more atypical than
that.

73e83d3e-3147-4668-887b-4de119291429-0
00:19:36.250 --> 00:19:37.090
Is that?

8b65bdb0-4076-42cc-b0fd-b78b87892970-0
00:19:38.020 --> 00:19:39.720
Gerard continued.

5b80003e-a2e6-4795-87e4-329155326e6d-0
00:19:40.840 --> 00:19:45.878
To speak up at general
conferences of the POC for the

5b80003e-a2e6-4795-87e4-329155326e6d-1
00:19:45.878 --> 00:19:51.850
next 4 decades, she was speaking
up saying she was not pleased.

682bae2f-2c1b-4aec-a21e-f69e292f82e8-0
00:19:53.530 --> 00:19:58.841
She was not pleased because of
the delay. What is taking the

682bae2f-2c1b-4aec-a21e-f69e292f82e8-1
00:19:58.841 --> 00:20:03.630
POC so long to recognize God's
gifts in women's lives?

f721c629-bfb8-496e-89c4-808c3eaf6bf1-0
00:20:04.580 --> 00:20:09.610
And when she spoke up, she faced
resistance. She was heckled from

f721c629-bfb8-496e-89c4-808c3eaf6bf1-1
00:20:09.610 --> 00:20:12.050
the conference floor. She stood.

083a82c2-9061-4122-88ff-7077e51c37d5-0
00:20:13.110 --> 00:20:17.920
Approached the microphone to
speak her position about the

083a82c2-9061-4122-88ff-7077e51c37d5-1
00:20:17.920 --> 00:20:22.647
ordination of women and
hecklers, other delegates, other

083a82c2-9061-4122-88ff-7077e51c37d5-2
00:20:22.647 --> 00:20:26.380
clergy, called out. Bernice, you
need a man.

4bc5e59b-f2e8-4b8e-a748-6c7fae6063c5-0
00:20:29.330 --> 00:20:32.120
No one made any move to silence
those hecklers.

2a292e08-5da7-459b-860b-48bcbdf9eac6-0
00:20:34.110 --> 00:20:38.739
Bernice faced all kinds of
heckling. It was familiar to

2a292e08-5da7-459b-860b-48bcbdf9eac6-1
00:20:38.739 --> 00:20:39.070
her.

21f0ea98-ac98-4192-a719-95d24eb972aa-0
00:20:40.360 --> 00:20:44.991
But maybe even more atypical is
that when Bernice Gerard argued

21f0ea98-ac98-4192-a719-95d24eb972aa-1
00:20:44.991 --> 00:20:49.115
that women should be fully
ordained and enter fully into

21f0ea98-ac98-4192-a719-95d24eb972aa-2
00:20:49.115 --> 00:20:53.023
the ministry, baptizing,
marrying, burying, you know,

21f0ea98-ac98-4192-a719-95d24eb972aa-3
00:20:53.023 --> 00:20:54.760
offering the sacraments.

edeece9e-fa4a-4b0c-ba71-243cc8f2c371-0
00:20:55.900 --> 00:21:00.556
When she said that when she
argued for it, she actually used

edeece9e-fa4a-4b0c-ba71-243cc8f2c371-1
00:21:00.556 --> 00:21:01.930
feminist rhetoric.

7c7ca6b3-56a8-4339-a1f9-8bc3e1c4dbda-0
00:21:03.160 --> 00:21:04.010
To do so.

29419dd8-93e4-4101-8707-a8f4a2cc7ee9-0
00:21:05.080 --> 00:21:09.096
That might surprise you, but
Bernice was convinced Jesus was

29419dd8-93e4-4101-8707-a8f4a2cc7ee9-1
00:21:09.096 --> 00:21:10.150
a feminist, too.

66c78732-d50c-4c68-b457-2bc95fce7a07-0
00:21:11.420 --> 00:21:12.610
Ask me about that later.

7469d4f2-a13b-4627-8123-83a5ffc1078f-0
00:21:16.380 --> 00:21:21.228
Gerard used her unusual voice as
a radio host to reach a very

7469d4f2-a13b-4627-8123-83a5ffc1078f-1
00:21:21.228 --> 00:21:25.373
wide audience in British
Columbia and up the Pacific

7469d4f2-a13b-4627-8123-83a5ffc1078f-2
00:21:25.373 --> 00:21:29.440
Northwest and into the
northwestern U.S. states. In

7469d4f2-a13b-4627-8123-83a5ffc1078f-3
00:21:29.440 --> 00:21:34.523
1973, an adoring listener wrote
to her to explain why he felt so

7469d4f2-a13b-4627-8123-83a5ffc1078f-4
00:21:34.523 --> 00:21:39.450
drawn to her programming quote.
To be a radio open liner takes

7469d4f2-a13b-4627-8123-83a5ffc1078f-5
00:21:39.450 --> 00:21:43.752
an ability that is rare, and
knowledge far more than a

7469d4f2-a13b-4627-8123-83a5ffc1078f-6
00:21:43.752 --> 00:21:46.020
professor needs very few men.

9a78ce0c-b8cc-40de-bf78-e24c2e822830-0
00:21:46.090 --> 00:21:47.060
Can do it well.

c3d8984d-e7a1-4431-8e30-b2b9259a6559-0
00:21:47.800 --> 00:21:53.333
For a lady to be so good at it
is a far greater rarity, and in

c3d8984d-e7a1-4431-8e30-b2b9259a6559-1
00:21:53.333 --> 00:21:54.300
this sense.

56d3a64c-803e-4fbe-a5ec-8113cab099ce-0
00:21:54.970 --> 00:21:57.870
Bernice, you have double appeal.

7b5d20a0-635b-4b3d-955c-574c35edc29e-0
00:21:59.220 --> 00:22:03.970
The listener continued his
letter, saying, quote, you bring

7b5d20a0-635b-4b3d-955c-574c35edc29e-1
00:22:03.970 --> 00:22:08.878
something desperately needed by
mankind, the power of a fully

7b5d20a0-635b-4b3d-955c-574c35edc29e-2
00:22:08.878 --> 00:22:10.620
developed female mind.

5003f194-6dbd-4cab-be31-7bf6d8964e67-0
00:22:11.880 --> 00:22:15.532
And it's balance and it's
invigoration and your

5003f194-6dbd-4cab-be31-7bf6d8964e67-1
00:22:15.532 --> 00:22:19.412
personality, while you have
courage and wisdom and

5003f194-6dbd-4cab-be31-7bf6d8964e67-2
00:22:19.412 --> 00:22:22.380
experience as reflected in your
voice.

5413a7da-ca6c-435f-bfbc-0ad94551de6f-0
00:22:23.430 --> 00:22:28.518
Your steadfastness and your
dedication. But it is the power

5413a7da-ca6c-435f-bfbc-0ad94551de6f-1
00:22:28.518 --> 00:22:32.080
of your developed mind that
seems to win.

e9ccdf1c-5523-405d-bc4b-f85e1f7f7f4b-0
00:22:32.760 --> 00:22:33.520
End Quote.

46b41151-d4ba-4552-a513-7993e8152b03-0
00:22:35.110 --> 00:22:39.971
By the 1970s, Gerard's broadcast
had grown from a 5 minute

46b41151-d4ba-4552-a513-7993e8152b03-1
00:22:39.971 --> 00:22:45.079
segment called ask the chaplain
to more than four hours every

46b41151-d4ba-4552-a513-7993e8152b03-2
00:22:45.079 --> 00:22:49.529
Sunday of live radio and a
rebranded broadcast called

46b41151-d4ba-4552-a513-7993e8152b03-3
00:22:49.529 --> 00:22:52.990
Sunday Line that featured
invited guests.

52100cda-5eab-4e24-ae27-fc35b6a33983-0
00:22:54.200 --> 00:22:59.343
And what a variety of guests.
She invited hippies. She invited

52100cda-5eab-4e24-ae27-fc35b6a33983-1
00:22:59.343 --> 00:23:04.569
recovered addicts. She invited
politicians, guest preachers, ex

52100cda-5eab-4e24-ae27-fc35b6a33983-2
00:23:04.569 --> 00:23:07.100
convicts. It was a lively show.

b91de21f-72a1-4310-bedd-f131ac517def-0
00:23:07.880 --> 00:23:12.218
Gerard's demeanor with all those
guests and listeners was

b91de21f-72a1-4310-bedd-f131ac517def-1
00:23:12.218 --> 00:23:15.210
respectful and compassionate,
but firm.

76c797e2-8a28-4c63-99af-8587af539453-0
00:23:15.840 --> 00:23:19.594
And unwavering in her
convictions that every human

76c797e2-8a28-4c63-99af-8587af539453-1
00:23:19.594 --> 00:23:22.760
need, no matter what, it was an
addiction.

9142b8a8-dbeb-43b5-8e0e-fd5483dcb569-0
00:23:24.060 --> 00:23:24.620


1f726361-b3ee-4289-9268-1f7d1e130405-0
00:23:25.640 --> 00:23:30.769
Psychological problems. Every
human need a fixation with sex.

1f726361-b3ee-4289-9268-1f7d1e130405-1
00:23:30.769 --> 00:23:34.740
Lots of her listeners called to
talk about sex.

2255c9d2-c93e-4f70-a111-c0b76ebcbf36-0
00:23:36.220 --> 00:23:40.688
Bernice was convinced that every
human need was evidence of a

2255c9d2-c93e-4f70-a111-c0b76ebcbf36-1
00:23:40.688 --> 00:23:45.445
spiritual void that needed to be
filled, and she knew how to fill

2255c9d2-c93e-4f70-a111-c0b76ebcbf36-2
00:23:45.445 --> 00:23:49.625
it. There is joy in serving
Jesus, she said. And the Holy

2255c9d2-c93e-4f70-a111-c0b76ebcbf36-3
00:23:49.625 --> 00:23:51.860
Spirit will fill your longings.

a9f36688-83bc-4c36-afb9-02c654b2470b-0
00:23:54.010 --> 00:23:58.967
Unlike male radio preachers that
we know quite a bit about from

a9f36688-83bc-4c36-afb9-02c654b2470b-1
00:23:58.967 --> 00:24:03.925
Canadian history, Gerard did not
preach Hellfire, brimstone, or

a9f36688-83bc-4c36-afb9-02c654b2470b-2
00:24:03.925 --> 00:24:05.320
some new economic.

c14c33f9-7e31-409a-bce0-462a52b5ee15-0
00:24:06.480 --> 00:24:10.862
Scheme like the Social Credit
preachers, she established

c14c33f9-7e31-409a-bce0-462a52b5ee15-1
00:24:10.862 --> 00:24:15.705
intimate pastoral relations with
her listeners, who poured out

c14c33f9-7e31-409a-bce0-462a52b5ee15-2
00:24:15.705 --> 00:24:20.472
their hearts and their secrets
to her, sometimes live on air,

c14c33f9-7e31-409a-bce0-462a52b5ee15-3
00:24:20.472 --> 00:24:23.240
but also in written
correspondence.

362b98fb-6261-4dae-b205-504e1b90ef5f-0
00:24:27.940 --> 00:24:32.449
When listeners wrote to Gerard,
they bared their souls. Several

362b98fb-6261-4dae-b205-504e1b90ef5f-1
00:24:32.449 --> 00:24:36.536
examples of those intimate
exchanges are preserved in her

362b98fb-6261-4dae-b205-504e1b90ef5f-2
00:24:36.536 --> 00:24:40.552
personal archives, including
those who told her that her

362b98fb-6261-4dae-b205-504e1b90ef5f-3
00:24:40.552 --> 00:24:44.710
voice on the radio had saved
them from suicidal ideations.

a37f62b7-3624-4845-9e3f-20699ffafc71-0
00:24:45.700 --> 00:24:49.808
That she was the only constant
friend they had during time

a37f62b7-3624-4845-9e3f-20699ffafc71-1
00:24:49.808 --> 00:24:54.125
served in prison. Others wrote
to her when they were missing,

a37f62b7-3624-4845-9e3f-20699ffafc71-2
00:24:54.125 --> 00:24:58.443
hearing her on the radio because
their work had taken them to

a37f62b7-3624-4845-9e3f-20699ffafc71-3
00:24:58.443 --> 00:25:02.272
remote resource camps in
northern BC and they couldn't

a37f62b7-3624-4845-9e3f-20699ffafc71-4
00:25:02.272 --> 00:25:04.710
get the broadcast signal up
there.

76b60a75-0d39-4707-8269-26c4ccfe5c65-0
00:25:06.350 --> 00:25:12.523
One particularly heartbreaking
letter discloses a secret. A big

76b60a75-0d39-4707-8269-26c4ccfe5c65-1
00:25:12.523 --> 00:25:16.960
secret. A secret about a back
alley abortion.

9905343a-b4b7-44f4-a12a-4a88e7939a39-0
00:25:18.650 --> 00:25:23.254
The woman who wrote disclosed to
Bernice that she had an abortion

9905343a-b4b7-44f4-a12a-4a88e7939a39-1
00:25:23.254 --> 00:25:24.440
on her honeymoon.

3d02e1ff-3a5a-4b94-a626-759850b1783e-0
00:25:25.700 --> 00:25:30.328
Because she and her fiance knew
there was a baby coming, and it

3d02e1ff-3a5a-4b94-a626-759850b1783e-1
00:25:30.328 --> 00:25:34.740
wasn't going to be OK for that
baby to arrive too soon after

3d02e1ff-3a5a-4b94-a626-759850b1783e-2
00:25:34.740 --> 00:25:39.151
the wedding. That was taboo.
Taboo for their strict parents,

3d02e1ff-3a5a-4b94-a626-759850b1783e-3
00:25:39.151 --> 00:25:43.418
taboo in their conservative
church family culture as well.

3d02e1ff-3a5a-4b94-a626-759850b1783e-4
00:25:43.418 --> 00:25:47.902
And Bernice was the first person
she and her husband had ever

3d02e1ff-3a5a-4b94-a626-759850b1783e-5
00:25:47.902 --> 00:25:49.060
told about that.

28a9bb25-5a2c-4099-a252-9c4317ad8f2b-0
00:25:51.350 --> 00:25:55.544
Listeners wrote to challenge
Bernice on what they said were

28a9bb25-5a2c-4099-a252-9c4317ad8f2b-1
00:25:55.544 --> 00:26:00.018
overly simplistic positions she
took as well. One was intrigued

28a9bb25-5a2c-4099-a252-9c4317ad8f2b-2
00:26:00.018 --> 00:26:04.213
by Gerard's opposition to a new
gay bar that was opening in

28a9bb25-5a2c-4099-a252-9c4317ad8f2b-3
00:26:04.213 --> 00:26:08.617
Vancouver, and the writer wrote
to say she agreed drinking and

28a9bb25-5a2c-4099-a252-9c4317ad8f2b-4
00:26:08.617 --> 00:26:12.742
loose sexual morays were a very
bad combination. Good job,

28a9bb25-5a2c-4099-a252-9c4317ad8f2b-5
00:26:12.742 --> 00:26:14.560
Bernice, for speaking out.

75e45a0c-de14-4452-96de-1479c08e2dfe-0
00:26:15.370 --> 00:26:21.536
But the writer cautioned Gerard
not to condemn the entire queer

75e45a0c-de14-4452-96de-1479c08e2dfe-1
00:26:21.536 --> 00:26:22.500
community.

46f24ca8-8011-47f5-92c2-424d3351e951-0
00:26:23.620 --> 00:26:26.260
God loves everyone, the writer
affirmed.

54ce9761-fbf3-40f4-b9e7-35e1d7d00ee2-0
00:26:26.910 --> 00:26:31.276
And the writer knew it first
hand because she was a Christian

54ce9761-fbf3-40f4-b9e7-35e1d7d00ee2-1
00:26:31.276 --> 00:26:31.840
lesbian.

983128c7-6299-4721-b39f-02030b72cd89-0
00:26:33.360 --> 00:26:37.357
A Christian lesbian, and she
told Bernice that's not an

983128c7-6299-4721-b39f-02030b72cd89-1
00:26:37.357 --> 00:26:38.000
oxymoron.

9e342941-ddbb-42d9-ac66-3124c10a12ea-0
00:26:40.240 --> 00:26:41.380
And I'm content.

ef221624-d713-4c3e-b6c5-e7dd4d44706b-0
00:26:42.270 --> 00:26:46.816
And I'm confident because I know
how God made me, so Bernice,

ef221624-d713-4c3e-b6c5-e7dd4d44706b-1
00:26:46.816 --> 00:26:51.290
back off a little bit on your
black and white positions, the

ef221624-d713-4c3e-b6c5-e7dd4d44706b-2
00:26:51.290 --> 00:26:52.170
writer said.

d2939a94-6ddc-4cf0-93b1-45d1993b431a-0
00:26:53.650 --> 00:26:57.469
Another Christian who had found
some had adopted some eastern

d2939a94-6ddc-4cf0-93b1-45d1993b431a-1
00:26:57.469 --> 00:27:01.350
religious practices, including
Transcendental Meditation, told

d2939a94-6ddc-4cf0-93b1-45d1993b431a-2
00:27:01.350 --> 00:27:04.924
Gerard that she needed to be
more open minded about other

d2939a94-6ddc-4cf0-93b1-45d1993b431a-3
00:27:04.924 --> 00:27:05.540
religions.

ec0a203d-1b47-48f0-b3ac-5f4337f6dcc4-0
00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:12.135
You should try it, he said. It's
really improved my devotional

ec0a203d-1b47-48f0-b3ac-5f4337f6dcc4-1
00:27:12.135 --> 00:27:14.170
life and I recommend it to you.

a3417308-c7c5-45ed-8c36-9f4cd59e0376-0
00:27:16.260 --> 00:27:19.676
So when her listeners wrote to
tell her that she was not

a3417308-c7c5-45ed-8c36-9f4cd59e0376-1
00:27:19.676 --> 00:27:23.093
typical because of her gender
and her on air style, that

a3417308-c7c5-45ed-8c36-9f4cd59e0376-2
00:27:23.093 --> 00:27:26.570
fostered these intimate,
pastoral relationships of trust.

3fb7910f-9ac4-4ab7-8121-d106a4f75175-0
00:27:28.670 --> 00:27:33.079
Well, she wasn't typical with
her appeal to other listeners,

3fb7910f-9ac4-4ab7-8121-d106a4f75175-1
00:27:33.079 --> 00:27:36.910
either. Listeners from the
campus campuses of public

3fb7910f-9ac4-4ab7-8121-d106a4f75175-2
00:27:36.910 --> 00:27:37.850
universities.

645161f1-e0d7-4a87-9697-bed7fba5ad24-0
00:27:39.290 --> 00:27:43.256
Gerard was exposed to other
faiths on campus, and she chose

645161f1-e0d7-4a87-9697-bed7fba5ad24-1
00:27:43.256 --> 00:27:47.091
her own courses of study to
learn more about other belief

645161f1-e0d7-4a87-9697-bed7fba5ad24-2
00:27:47.091 --> 00:27:47.620
systems.

723d8b49-e142-47a0-b3a4-120c250081cc-0
00:27:48.970 --> 00:27:52.563
In fact, it was her campus
colleagues who first led her to

723d8b49-e142-47a0-b3a4-120c250081cc-1
00:27:52.563 --> 00:27:54.330
an appreciation of ecumenism.

57f7549d-e090-4f9d-ace6-2ed0f5d81e09-0
00:27:58.440 --> 00:28:02.547
Gerard returned to UBC as a
mature student in 1958 after the

57f7549d-e090-4f9d-ace6-2ed0f5d81e09-1
00:28:02.547 --> 00:28:06.453
trio broke up when First Gene
and then a few years later,

57f7549d-e090-4f9d-ace6-2ed0f5d81e09-2
00:28:06.453 --> 00:28:09.080
Velma had accepted marriage
proposals.

33946d16-e7be-4e70-8a6d-8936c40eefdd-0
00:28:10.700 --> 00:28:13.547
Bernie said cut her own
education a bit short because in

33946d16-e7be-4e70-8a6d-8936c40eefdd-1
00:28:13.547 --> 00:28:16.395
World War Two there was a
teacher shortage. And it meant

33946d16-e7be-4e70-8a6d-8936c40eefdd-2
00:28:16.395 --> 00:28:19.542
that Bernice was dispatched to
become a teacher in Roslyn, BC,

33946d16-e7be-4e70-8a6d-8936c40eefdd-3
00:28:19.542 --> 00:28:22.690
before she had actually finished
all of her degree. So now she

33946d16-e7be-4e70-8a6d-8936c40eefdd-4
00:28:22.690 --> 00:28:23.090
decided.

44c9f58d-860f-4d28-8a15-1c84ae322077-0
00:28:23.730 --> 00:28:26.420
Well, I guess I'll go back and
finish my BA.

1ca395cb-8554-4e7f-a785-f653718c4d4d-0
00:28:27.360 --> 00:28:31.970
At the UBC she finished that,
and then she stayed and she did

1ca395cb-8554-4e7f-a785-f653718c4d4d-1
00:28:31.970 --> 00:28:35.020
a Masters of Arts in English
literature.

b9227324-5290-4d3f-a9c7-59009e609aad-0
00:28:36.850 --> 00:28:41.585
Bernice approached the campus
with some trepidation. As many

b9227324-5290-4d3f-a9c7-59009e609aad-1
00:28:41.585 --> 00:28:46.088
evangelicals do, she was well
aware that the influence of

b9227324-5290-4d3f-a9c7-59009e609aad-2
00:28:46.088 --> 00:28:50.358
secular professors could
challenge her faith, stealing

b9227324-5290-4d3f-a9c7-59009e609aad-3
00:28:50.358 --> 00:28:50.980
herself.

1c21bb5b-b381-4271-aa46-382524563ecf-0
00:28:51.790 --> 00:28:56.958
To face the ridicule of being
labeled as an anti intellectual,

1c21bb5b-b381-4271-aa46-382524563ecf-1
00:28:56.958 --> 00:29:02.045
Gerard came to embrace campus
life in every regard. She loved

1c21bb5b-b381-4271-aa46-382524563ecf-2
00:29:02.045 --> 00:29:02.620
it all.

540a969a-7453-4ba8-a66d-57ab2df174d5-0
00:29:03.420 --> 00:29:07.374
After several weeks of study,
she mustered the courage to

540a969a-7453-4ba8-a66d-57ab2df174d5-1
00:29:07.374 --> 00:29:11.397
respectfully point out to a
particularly popular and witty

540a969a-7453-4ba8-a66d-57ab2df174d5-2
00:29:11.397 --> 00:29:13.920
philosophy professor that his
logic.

5e3b7a9a-d28e-46da-9022-b7509f335c99-0
00:29:14.730 --> 00:29:19.930
Was faulty when he dismissed the
existence of God as irrational.

4b223df6-78cd-41e1-beca-75b97f190391-0
00:29:23.040 --> 00:29:26.481
Now Pentecostals and somebody
else already said this earlier

4b223df6-78cd-41e1-beca-75b97f190391-1
00:29:26.481 --> 00:29:29.696
today in a session where I was
kind of costals often get

4b223df6-78cd-41e1-beca-75b97f190391-2
00:29:29.696 --> 00:29:31.840
associated with anti
intellectualism.

8a2aaa89-8c22-40db-b4a3-7a031ff9b0e5-0
00:29:32.760 --> 00:29:38.392
Well, not produce. She was not
typical because she became a

8a2aaa89-8c22-40db-b4a3-7a031ff9b0e5-1
00:29:38.392 --> 00:29:39.800
campus insider.

da67ee1b-40fb-45db-a70d-3747a25e37e3-0
00:29:41.790 --> 00:29:45.450
And getting a graduate degree,
not in theology, but in

da67ee1b-40fb-45db-a70d-3747a25e37e3-1
00:29:45.450 --> 00:29:48.911
humanities in English
literature. That was unusual,

da67ee1b-40fb-45db-a70d-3747a25e37e3-2
00:29:48.911 --> 00:29:52.771
atypical. She enjoyed the
classes. She entered fully into

da67ee1b-40fb-45db-a70d-3747a25e37e3-3
00:29:52.771 --> 00:29:56.565
the delight and privilege that
student life offered her,

da67ee1b-40fb-45db-a70d-3747a25e37e3-4
00:29:56.565 --> 00:30:00.225
without slipping into a tone of
arrogance or sarcastic

da67ee1b-40fb-45db-a70d-3747a25e37e3-5
00:30:00.225 --> 00:30:03.420
disrespect for secular
scholarship. That a more

da67ee1b-40fb-45db-a70d-3747a25e37e3-6
00:30:03.420 --> 00:30:07.413
immature student might naively
adopt her graduate thesis on

da67ee1b-40fb-45db-a70d-3747a25e37e3-7
00:30:07.413 --> 00:30:11.540
Milton's Paradise Lost was on
the question of whether or not.

ba9b85b9-f387-4fad-bc0a-684e4b57c753-0
00:30:11.690 --> 00:30:13.380
Milton was orthodox.

2623171a-d1cc-4c70-9d62-782e98b1a773-0
00:30:14.390 --> 00:30:18.501
And she concluded, despite what
other Christian theologians had

2623171a-d1cc-4c70-9d62-782e98b1a773-1
00:30:18.501 --> 00:30:19.080
declared.

a91b575e-1551-4c36-b5b0-eab9ac7cbdd7-0
00:30:19.840 --> 00:30:22.180
Milton is Orthodox, she said.

b0e98d63-ac95-4c1f-9a0d-882ee4c026b2-0
00:30:23.020 --> 00:30:27.450
Well, OK, maybe not on every
fine point, but but what she

b0e98d63-ac95-4c1f-9a0d-882ee4c026b2-1
00:30:27.450 --> 00:30:29.590
found in Milton was a model.

56b7c0ed-b1c0-4b7e-bbbe-f4b13fdf2378-0
00:30:30.630 --> 00:30:34.189
A model for creatively
communicating the good news of

56b7c0ed-b1c0-4b7e-bbbe-f4b13fdf2378-1
00:30:34.189 --> 00:30:38.210
the gospel to any and all who
would receive it by any means.

445b6e9c-333f-4b18-95ef-a26272b02a90-0
00:30:40.050 --> 00:30:42.540
Gerard was not a systematic
theologian.

bd4912b4-0f24-4734-a6a2-7baf692c9c0c-0
00:30:43.300 --> 00:30:47.061
She was a literature scholar,
and she worked hard, really

bd4912b4-0f24-4734-a6a2-7baf692c9c0c-1
00:30:47.061 --> 00:30:50.369
hard, and seriously to
understand the intellectual

bd4912b4-0f24-4734-a6a2-7baf692c9c0c-2
00:30:50.369 --> 00:30:53.872
culture in which she was
immersed. She was convinced,

bd4912b4-0f24-4734-a6a2-7baf692c9c0c-3
00:30:53.872 --> 00:30:57.180
after all, that God had called
her to that campus.

bd38ee8f-7bfc-4b82-af64-555ed9d73e24-0
00:30:58.110 --> 00:30:59.710
Both campuses, actually.

2f468e04-fc07-43d1-985d-870742e0c66b-0
00:31:01.420 --> 00:31:04.761
Gerard embraced this campus
life. She loved the classes. She

2f468e04-fc07-43d1-985d-870742e0c66b-1
00:31:04.761 --> 00:31:08.048
loved her fellow students. And
when she observed that other

2f468e04-fc07-43d1-985d-870742e0c66b-2
00:31:08.048 --> 00:31:11.281
Christian churches all had
chaplains on campus, she asked,

2f468e04-fc07-43d1-985d-870742e0c66b-3
00:31:11.281 --> 00:31:12.870
why doesn't the POC have one?

7a869402-e518-435c-a342-600476fc2149-0
00:31:14.390 --> 00:31:18.570
She was surprised and delighted
when the POC said right back at

7a869402-e518-435c-a342-600476fc2149-1
00:31:18.570 --> 00:31:22.358
you, Bernice, why don't you
become a chaplain? And so she

7a869402-e518-435c-a342-600476fc2149-2
00:31:22.358 --> 00:31:22.620
did.

50f3b031-afed-41f6-b49d-eb7d2dcfb7b1-0
00:31:23.450 --> 00:31:28.117
Bernice became a chaplain, the
first Pentecostal chaplain at a

50f3b031-afed-41f6-b49d-eb7d2dcfb7b1-1
00:31:28.117 --> 00:31:32.858
public university in Canada. Now
to the Newfoundlanders on this

50f3b031-afed-41f6-b49d-eb7d2dcfb7b1-2
00:31:32.858 --> 00:31:37.377
screen and in the room. I know
you could debate that, right,

50f3b031-afed-41f6-b49d-eb7d2dcfb7b1-3
00:31:37.377 --> 00:31:41.747
because Munn has long had
Pentecostal chaplains, but let's

50f3b031-afed-41f6-b49d-eb7d2dcfb7b1-4
00:31:41.747 --> 00:31:46.488
check the record. Certainly with
the P AOC, there's no debating

50f3b031-afed-41f6-b49d-eb7d2dcfb7b1-5
00:31:46.488 --> 00:31:50.637
that Bernice was the first she
served as campus Champus

50f3b031-afed-41f6-b49d-eb7d2dcfb7b1-6
00:31:50.637 --> 00:31:53.230
chaplain at UBC from 1963 to
1985.

40d31c7b-9366-4fb8-b6d0-720d0d7303c9-0
00:31:53.390 --> 00:31:58.525
That's a really long run, and
she also served at Simon Fraser

40d31c7b-9366-4fb8-b6d0-720d0d7303c9-1
00:31:58.525 --> 00:32:03.826
University from its founding in
1965 for 20 years, Simon Fraser

40d31c7b-9366-4fb8-b6d0-720d0d7303c9-2
00:32:03.826 --> 00:32:07.720
the most radical campus in the
entire country.

5e998418-efa1-4623-a956-4f9e269b950f-0
00:32:09.010 --> 00:32:13.946
In her role as chaplain, she sat
on university Senate committees,

5e998418-efa1-4623-a956-4f9e269b950f-1
00:32:13.946 --> 00:32:18.733
and in 1972, she was the first
woman ever to preside over a UBC

5e998418-efa1-4623-a956-4f9e269b950f-2
00:32:18.733 --> 00:32:22.997
convocation ceremony. So here
she is, as this photograph

5e998418-efa1-4623-a956-4f9e269b950f-3
00:32:22.997 --> 00:32:27.634
underlines a female chaplain.
That's kind of rare, not really

5e998418-efa1-4623-a956-4f9e269b950f-4
00:32:27.634 --> 00:32:31.150
typical, and she took the role
very seriously.

56992f95-ea26-4cad-b4e8-fade700dbc7a-0
00:32:32.000 --> 00:32:35.560
She was. She became a student of
student culture.

16c1eb0e-4ef4-442f-8204-9a32ca82a67c-0
00:32:36.240 --> 00:32:39.917
She took the role seriously. She
read widely about campus

16c1eb0e-4ef4-442f-8204-9a32ca82a67c-1
00:32:39.917 --> 00:32:43.530
ministry strategy. She thought
deeply about sociological

16c1eb0e-4ef4-442f-8204-9a32ca82a67c-2
00:32:43.530 --> 00:32:47.398
studies of young adults. She
conducted campus surveys to tap

16c1eb0e-4ef4-442f-8204-9a32ca82a67c-3
00:32:47.398 --> 00:32:51.138
into the existential realities
of her students, lives, her

16c1eb0e-4ef4-442f-8204-9a32ca82a67c-4
00:32:51.138 --> 00:32:54.815
findings. It's all there in her
archive, and these are of

16c1eb0e-4ef4-442f-8204-9a32ca82a67c-5
00:32:54.815 --> 00:32:58.429
interest in the ongoing
scholarship about faith and your

16c1eb0e-4ef4-442f-8204-9a32ca82a67c-6
00:32:58.429 --> 00:33:01.852
religion, especially in the
Pacific Northwest that is

16c1eb0e-4ef4-442f-8204-9a32ca82a67c-7
00:33:01.852 --> 00:33:05.530
emerging. These were tumultuous
decades of social change.

c74e7606-263a-49ab-a959-3d856ad1832f-0
00:33:07.730 --> 00:33:12.890
Gerard worked closely with her
own church, but she also began.

c1a9cec9-1a85-4a8d-b4aa-36439023c3f8-0
00:33:13.730 --> 00:33:15.420


9497a078-7cae-4d53-b355-20bf1ee04f10-0
00:33:16.020 --> 00:33:21.088
So, OK, it's not typical for
Pentecostal to have chaplains #1

9497a078-7cae-4d53-b355-20bf1ee04f10-1
00:33:21.088 --> 00:33:25.749
#2. It's not typical for them to
choose a woman, and her

9497a078-7cae-4d53-b355-20bf1ee04f10-2
00:33:25.749 --> 00:33:30.654
university chaplaincy coincided
very directly with her very

9497a078-7cae-4d53-b355-20bf1ee04f10-3
00:33:30.654 --> 00:33:34.170
early embrace of the charismatic
movement.

10d9d0f3-81f4-4daa-9c9d-e392337751c7-0
00:33:35.410 --> 00:33:39.667
She did work with the POC, but
she also embraced ecumenical

10d9d0f3-81f4-4daa-9c9d-e392337751c7-1
00:33:39.667 --> 00:33:44.279
initiatives, and she learned to
appreciate the historic churches

10d9d0f3-81f4-4daa-9c9d-e392337751c7-2
00:33:44.279 --> 00:33:48.465
and their traditions. But
perhaps the biggest, biggest one

10d9d0f3-81f4-4daa-9c9d-e392337751c7-3
00:33:48.465 --> 00:33:52.864
of all is that she embraced the
charismatic movement when the

10d9d0f3-81f4-4daa-9c9d-e392337751c7-4
00:33:52.864 --> 00:33:54.780
POC was not ready to do so.

439a20be-424b-496a-ac16-be868686e9b5-0
00:33:55.880 --> 00:33:58.110
Bernice worked with Catholics.

8a28bb0d-0ee4-483b-b500-43c7e4d64f04-0
00:34:01.290 --> 00:34:05.976
That was a big no no for the
Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada

8a28bb0d-0ee4-483b-b500-43c7e4d64f04-1
00:34:05.976 --> 00:34:08.320
and other evangelicals in this.

ce6e57ea-38c6-464d-8c38-0d2279f7ffdf-0
00:34:10.380 --> 00:34:13.944
Her association with Catholics
took her to all kinds of places

ce6e57ea-38c6-464d-8c38-0d2279f7ffdf-1
00:34:13.944 --> 00:34:14.510
like this.

11cdacd5-0772-43ff-938a-2a43a3c6183c-0
00:34:17.150 --> 00:34:20.570
Appreciating charismatic
experiences was a process for

11cdacd5-0772-43ff-938a-2a43a3c6183c-1
00:34:20.570 --> 00:34:24.302
Gerard. She was cautious and
curious when she first learned

11cdacd5-0772-43ff-938a-2a43a3c6183c-2
00:34:24.302 --> 00:34:28.345
the spirit might be moving among
the historic denominations. But

11cdacd5-0772-43ff-938a-2a43a3c6183c-3
00:34:28.345 --> 00:34:32.014
in short order, and after she
attended one of the earliest

11cdacd5-0772-43ff-938a-2a43a3c6183c-4
00:34:32.014 --> 00:34:35.870
gatherings of charismatics at
Notre Dame University, she came

11cdacd5-0772-43ff-938a-2a43a3c6183c-5
00:34:35.870 --> 00:34:39.415
to embrace the reported
experiences as a genuine move of

11cdacd5-0772-43ff-938a-2a43a3c6183c-6
00:34:39.415 --> 00:34:40.100
the spirit.

aa5a1ca7-2a52-4f23-b853-5bdb7f2aada9-0
00:34:42.350 --> 00:34:46.104
Someone who was at one of these
charismatic gatherings wrote to

aa5a1ca7-2a52-4f23-b853-5bdb7f2aada9-1
00:34:46.104 --> 00:34:49.859
her national Superintendent of
the POC and said congratulations

aa5a1ca7-2a52-4f23-b853-5bdb7f2aada9-2
00:34:49.859 --> 00:34:53.438
on, you know, appointing such an
intelligent and well spoken

aa5a1ca7-2a52-4f23-b853-5bdb7f2aada9-3
00:34:53.438 --> 00:34:56.020
woman to represent you at these
gatherings.

5e94b862-32d9-44b0-af7d-5e51455c13fd-0
00:34:57.250 --> 00:35:01.380
And the national Superintendent,
Roback said Bernice is an

5e94b862-32d9-44b0-af7d-5e51455c13fd-1
00:35:01.380 --> 00:35:05.860
exceptional individual. That's
true. We did not appoint her. We

5e94b862-32d9-44b0-af7d-5e51455c13fd-2
00:35:05.860 --> 00:35:10.060
don't work with Catholics.
That's in the record, too. Check

5e94b862-32d9-44b0-af7d-5e51455c13fd-3
00:35:10.060 --> 00:35:11.530
out the POC archives.

d422947d-b330-497e-9882-c5751eb56acb-0
00:35:13.950 --> 00:35:17.387
This appreciation that she
gained for and for Roman

d422947d-b330-497e-9882-c5751eb56acb-1
00:35:17.387 --> 00:35:20.956
Catholics and for cooperating
with them meant she was

d422947d-b330-497e-9882-c5751eb56acb-2
00:35:20.956 --> 00:35:25.121
sometimes at odds with her own
denominational authorities. But

d422947d-b330-497e-9882-c5751eb56acb-3
00:35:25.121 --> 00:35:29.153
she was convinced, no, God is
moving and I'm there. Wherever

d422947d-b330-497e-9882-c5751eb56acb-4
00:35:29.153 --> 00:35:32.987
the spirit's moving, that's
where I'm going. So one cause

d422947d-b330-497e-9882-c5751eb56acb-5
00:35:32.987 --> 00:35:36.953
that some Pentecostals, not all,
some Pentecostals and many

d422947d-b330-497e-9882-c5751eb56acb-6
00:35:36.953 --> 00:35:40.721
evangelicals could embrace and
share with their Catholic

d422947d-b330-497e-9882-c5751eb56acb-7
00:35:40.721 --> 00:35:43.630
siblings was activism around
anti abortion.

9d0f780c-b5e9-43e0-b796-537a1b7826b0-0
00:35:44.670 --> 00:35:49.815
So here she is. Isn't that a
lovely picture? And she's at an

9d0f780c-b5e9-43e0-b796-537a1b7826b0-1
00:35:49.815 --> 00:35:51.250
abortion protest.

bd1410cc-6509-4d8e-a901-8d96ae265978-0
00:35:52.780 --> 00:35:56.428
As secular feminists worked hard
to push for greater access to

bd1410cc-6509-4d8e-a901-8d96ae265978-1
00:35:56.428 --> 00:36:00.249
abortion as a main pillar of the
second wave women's movement, my

bd1410cc-6509-4d8e-a901-8d96ae265978-2
00:36:00.249 --> 00:36:03.608
body, my choice. That's where
that phrase originally came

bd1410cc-6509-4d8e-a901-8d96ae265978-3
00:36:03.608 --> 00:36:06.966
from, by the way, not where
you've heard it recently. But

bd1410cc-6509-4d8e-a901-8d96ae265978-4
00:36:06.966 --> 00:36:10.440
that was a main pillar of the
second wave women's movement.

bd1410cc-6509-4d8e-a901-8d96ae265978-5
00:36:10.440 --> 00:36:14.262
And many conservative Christians
doubled down in their opposition

bd1410cc-6509-4d8e-a901-8d96ae265978-6
00:36:14.262 --> 00:36:17.794
to all kinds of liberalization
trends that were happening in

bd1410cc-6509-4d8e-a901-8d96ae265978-7
00:36:17.794 --> 00:36:20.690
Canadian society with Prime
Minister Trudeau won.

ad78d8b6-92ee-42ce-8853-ac1108323771-0
00:36:22.320 --> 00:36:26.042
And while the so-called pro-life
movement began by asserting that

ad78d8b6-92ee-42ce-8853-ac1108323771-1
00:36:26.042 --> 00:36:29.595
life begins at conception, the
movement turned to focus on the

ad78d8b6-92ee-42ce-8853-ac1108323771-2
00:36:29.595 --> 00:36:30.780
rights of the unborn.

8897dc52-3944-4e2f-8127-da325cb142e1-0
00:36:31.950 --> 00:36:33.410
That wasn't Gerard's focus.

17d0ff1e-16ed-4307-a193-cf61abfeb8cb-0
00:36:35.400 --> 00:36:39.390
Her position on abortion was
more complicated and more

17d0ff1e-16ed-4307-a193-cf61abfeb8cb-1
00:36:39.390 --> 00:36:42.220
nuanced. And her position on
abortion?

cd69e6d5-1931-4af8-b72e-2fb93046efd4-0
00:36:43.680 --> 00:36:45.530
Was based on a personal story.

8cb8d268-911d-4007-8279-ae6a6873a7ab-0
00:36:48.010 --> 00:36:52.707
So yes, it was typical for some
to come and begin to cooperate

8cb8d268-911d-4007-8279-ae6a6873a7ab-1
00:36:52.707 --> 00:36:57.478
across ecumenical lines, but no,
it was not typical for the POC

8cb8d268-911d-4007-8279-ae6a6873a7ab-2
00:36:57.478 --> 00:37:02.250
to cooperate with Catholics, and
it was not typical. Don't miss

8cb8d268-911d-4007-8279-ae6a6873a7ab-3
00:37:02.250 --> 00:37:04.860
the second part of that last
line.

1f3766f2-e4d0-48d3-8386-df2d8a4575fc-0
00:37:05.490 --> 00:37:09.771
For Pentecostals to argue from
personal stories, it's not that

1f3766f2-e4d0-48d3-8386-df2d8a4575fc-1
00:37:09.771 --> 00:37:12.490
Bernie Gerard had ever had an
abortion.

178af3e7-f583-435a-8396-c8b484eb6b79-0
00:37:14.310 --> 00:37:19.041
But it was rather that her own
disabled birth mother did not

178af3e7-f583-435a-8396-c8b484eb6b79-1
00:37:19.041 --> 00:37:19.740
have one.

dc03dcaf-ba5c-46f9-a99d-643fa6e2bbff-0
00:37:22.090 --> 00:37:25.714
George's birth mother, when she
finally found her a little later

dc03dcaf-ba5c-46f9-a99d-643fa6e2bbff-1
00:37:25.714 --> 00:37:26.160
in life.

c587f6ed-1da5-43f5-b367-9e2e75b9dc8a-0
00:37:26.880 --> 00:37:30.487
She learned was a long term
patient in a mental health

c587f6ed-1da5-43f5-b367-9e2e75b9dc8a-1
00:37:30.487 --> 00:37:34.292
facility in British Columbia,
and Gerard appreciated that

c587f6ed-1da5-43f5-b367-9e2e75b9dc8a-2
00:37:34.292 --> 00:37:37.310
abortion had not been forced
upon her mother.

dd6c0b7d-511c-43dc-b727-05d77f1ff4a9-0
00:37:38.030 --> 00:37:41.201
Not just because, as she
countered some of her critics,

dd6c0b7d-511c-43dc-b727-05d77f1ff4a9-1
00:37:41.201 --> 00:37:44.542
right, I wouldn't be here. I
wouldn't know the difference.

dd6c0b7d-511c-43dc-b727-05d77f1ff4a9-2
00:37:44.542 --> 00:37:48.110
No, that's not my argument. My
argument is, she said I'm happy

dd6c0b7d-511c-43dc-b727-05d77f1ff4a9-3
00:37:48.110 --> 00:37:51.678
that abortion was not forced on
a woman like my mother because

dd6c0b7d-511c-43dc-b727-05d77f1ff4a9-4
00:37:51.678 --> 00:37:54.170
abortion isn't always about
women's rights.

28cc3a62-dfa2-47b4-83b5-9b8bd5c8ebe3-0
00:37:54.840 --> 00:37:59.120
Sometimes it's about eugenics
and I can't go for that.

cbcfebe1-a2ba-4ad4-b292-a69302ea7ffb-0
00:38:00.160 --> 00:38:02.960
That was Gerard's position on
abortion.

f47cb57e-5aac-4efd-98f5-7900575ea4a1-0
00:38:05.960 --> 00:38:08.950
Well, OK, protesting abortion is
one thing.

3f96e9b1-a02f-446e-abb4-abc9c40371bd-0
00:38:09.700 --> 00:38:13.629
And not all Pentecostals even
agreed on that. So ask me about

3f96e9b1-a02f-446e-abb4-abc9c40371bd-1
00:38:13.629 --> 00:38:16.988
that later. But actually
becoming political, like, I

3f96e9b1-a02f-446e-abb4-abc9c40371bd-2
00:38:16.988 --> 00:38:20.727
mean, becoming a politician.
That was a whole other level.

3f96e9b1-a02f-446e-abb4-abc9c40371bd-3
00:38:20.727 --> 00:38:24.657
And while evangelicals in this.
Were organizing themselves to

3f96e9b1-a02f-446e-abb4-abc9c40371bd-4
00:38:24.657 --> 00:38:28.649
lobby governments, the POC was
doing it through something they

3f96e9b1-a02f-446e-abb4-abc9c40371bd-5
00:38:28.649 --> 00:38:32.008
created called the Social
Concerns Committee and the

3f96e9b1-a02f-446e-abb4-abc9c40371bd-6
00:38:32.008 --> 00:38:35.621
fledgling Evangelical Fellowship
of Canada, the EFC that

3f96e9b1-a02f-446e-abb4-abc9c40371bd-7
00:38:35.621 --> 00:38:38.790
tindell's very own Brian Stiller
was a leader of.

a39e5801-2d0a-4e3d-9714-2732529014f2-0
00:38:40.190 --> 00:38:44.975
By the way, when I interviewed
Brian Stiller for my book, he

a39e5801-2d0a-4e3d-9714-2732529014f2-1
00:38:44.975 --> 00:38:49.840
said Bernice mentored me. She
showed me how to do it. Do what

a39e5801-2d0a-4e3d-9714-2732529014f2-2
00:38:49.840 --> 00:38:54.155
I asked how to lead an
organization, how to create the

a39e5801-2d0a-4e3d-9714-2732529014f2-3
00:38:54.155 --> 00:38:58.391
mailing list, how to be
systematic for donors, how to

a39e5801-2d0a-4e3d-9714-2732529014f2-4
00:38:58.391 --> 00:39:03.020
organize events. Brian Stiller
has huge regard for Bernice

a39e5801-2d0a-4e3d-9714-2732529014f2-5
00:39:03.020 --> 00:39:03.570
Gerard.

c2f5b7c9-7652-4310-aeb4-b9f2598fbbda-0
00:39:04.990 --> 00:39:09.929
But Bernice Gerard took the bold
step to become a politician. Her

c2f5b7c9-7652-4310-aeb4-b9f2598fbbda-1
00:39:09.929 --> 00:39:14.719
supporters encouraged her to run
for the Vancouver City Council

c2f5b7c9-7652-4310-aeb4-b9f2598fbbda-2
00:39:14.719 --> 00:39:19.434
because they recognized, Ohh,
that voice. She would be such an

c2f5b7c9-7652-4310-aeb4-b9f2598fbbda-3
00:39:19.434 --> 00:39:23.924
effective voice of conservative
views in a very progressive

c2f5b7c9-7652-4310-aeb4-b9f2598fbbda-4
00:39:23.924 --> 00:39:28.115
city. And so she ran. And she
won. And she served as an

c2f5b7c9-7652-4310-aeb4-b9f2598fbbda-5
00:39:28.115 --> 00:39:32.231
Alderman in Vancouver from 1977
to 1981. Not a typical

c2f5b7c9-7652-4310-aeb4-b9f2598fbbda-6
00:39:32.231 --> 00:39:33.130
Pentecostal.

cd351ff8-603a-481d-b317-a43276b00dff-0
00:39:34.010 --> 00:39:38.521
Pentecostals don't usually do
that well. Political cartoonists

cd351ff8-603a-481d-b317-a43276b00dff-1
00:39:38.521 --> 00:39:42.890
had a heyday, as you can see
from the screen, they found her

cd351ff8-603a-481d-b317-a43276b00dff-2
00:39:42.890 --> 00:39:46.972
so easy to caricature, they
mocked her opposition to all

cd351ff8-603a-481d-b317-a43276b00dff-3
00:39:46.972 --> 00:39:51.341
kinds of causes, including the
time she famously walked on a

cd351ff8-603a-481d-b317-a43276b00dff-4
00:39:51.341 --> 00:39:53.060
nude beach in Vancouver.

3aebd90a-1cfe-4b50-aebf-f54629386645-0
00:39:54.360 --> 00:39:56.520
To protest that.

a8958ee5-e9e0-4d3b-9d22-6db59e0a89c8-0
00:39:57.280 --> 00:40:01.137
And here she wasn't protesting
public nudity. She was

a8958ee5-e9e0-4d3b-9d22-6db59e0a89c8-1
00:40:01.137 --> 00:40:04.924
protesting that the nude
community clothing optional

a8958ee5-e9e0-4d3b-9d22-6db59e0a89c8-2
00:40:04.924 --> 00:40:08.639
community felt they had the
right to every beach in

a8958ee5-e9e0-4d3b-9d22-6db59e0a89c8-3
00:40:08.639 --> 00:40:13.068
Vancouver. And she said, no,
this is your beach and these are

a8958ee5-e9e0-4d3b-9d22-6db59e0a89c8-4
00:40:13.068 --> 00:40:14.140
the boundaries.

4a821dd8-32f2-4064-b75d-db49ac175f76-0
00:40:14.920 --> 00:40:16.110
Don't take license.

0d111ce8-c917-416a-81a7-857d0f8f762e-0
00:40:17.760 --> 00:40:20.912
Closer examination of the
archival record in the Vancouver

0d111ce8-c917-416a-81a7-857d0f8f762e-1
00:40:20.912 --> 00:40:24.064
city of the City of Vancouver
Archives, where I've been on

0d111ce8-c917-416a-81a7-857d0f8f762e-2
00:40:24.064 --> 00:40:25.400
this issue, reveals that.

8aea2e83-9a5d-426e-9e47-46b27393926b-0
00:40:26.560 --> 00:40:30.265
Bernice Gerard was actually
quite moderate on a number of

8aea2e83-9a5d-426e-9e47-46b27393926b-1
00:40:30.265 --> 00:40:34.290
issues, but of course nuance is
not what political cartoonists

8aea2e83-9a5d-426e-9e47-46b27393926b-2
00:40:34.290 --> 00:40:38.060
are looking for, and that gets
lost in that visual record.

f67429ac-6b32-45b7-9f96-8d12770865f2-0
00:40:39.470 --> 00:40:43.921
Gerard Rachael for entering
politics sounds an awful lot

f67429ac-6b32-45b7-9f96-8d12770865f2-1
00:40:43.921 --> 00:40:45.640
like Walter Bruggeman.

7bbac919-a01d-49db-81c7-9a5813b88e6c-0
00:40:46.760 --> 00:40:50.020
And his classic book The
Prophetic imagination.

a05ef1e8-0774-4777-901f-3c3c0b0aa72f-0
00:40:50.800 --> 00:40:54.628
The thing is, though, Bergman
wrote that book in 1978, right

a05ef1e8-0774-4777-901f-3c3c0b0aa72f-1
00:40:54.628 --> 00:40:55.130
in this.

efbf7d16-ab85-4ac4-b991-90aa0245b29d-0
00:40:55.990 --> 00:41:00.169
But Bernice had arrived at her
convictions about being in

efbf7d16-ab85-4ac4-b991-90aa0245b29d-1
00:41:00.169 --> 00:41:04.204
politics in 1973, five years
before that book came out,

efbf7d16-ab85-4ac4-b991-90aa0245b29d-2
00:41:04.204 --> 00:41:08.599
Bernice Gerard preached a sermon
series at her own church in

efbf7d16-ab85-4ac4-b991-90aa0245b29d-3
00:41:08.599 --> 00:41:09.320
Vancouver.

6e110997-f52a-4434-97fe-797484e91ba5-0
00:41:10.810 --> 00:41:14.655
And she actually says, I
preached myself into politics.

6e110997-f52a-4434-97fe-797484e91ba5-1
00:41:14.655 --> 00:41:18.295
While she was preaching that
series, the Holy Spirit

6e110997-f52a-4434-97fe-797484e91ba5-2
00:41:18.295 --> 00:41:22.553
convicted her that she was to
become involved in public life.

6e110997-f52a-4434-97fe-797484e91ba5-3
00:41:22.553 --> 00:41:26.330
She was convicted. She said that
this was her calling.

2421facf-223e-4788-9206-aef8ab294b16-0
00:41:27.520 --> 00:41:31.120
To put concrete action to her
prophetic gifting.

b3c4fd00-dc35-4270-aaed-755b3fc55439-0
00:41:32.370 --> 00:41:34.560
What was the sermon series
about, you might ask?

8bd81e30-fad9-4a14-ac55-3949a31ad429-0
00:41:35.290 --> 00:41:40.370
Moses, the greatest prophet of
them all, and just like Moses

8bd81e30-fad9-4a14-ac55-3949a31ad429-1
00:41:40.370 --> 00:41:42.370
had stood up to Pharaoh.

b7565763-7cb2-44f8-a11c-a5c634a04c9d-0
00:41:43.960 --> 00:41:47.040
That's what Bernice Girard
intended to do.

746962a9-fdae-435d-8dca-39af1df028e5-0
00:41:48.650 --> 00:41:50.740
So, not typical.

24834c27-69c3-4223-a5f5-99989add384c-0
00:41:51.710 --> 00:41:55.084
To explain public engagement as
an extension of your prophetic

24834c27-69c3-4223-a5f5-99989add384c-1
00:41:55.084 --> 00:41:58.458
calling you you start doing that
in the City Council chambers,

24834c27-69c3-4223-a5f5-99989add384c-2
00:41:58.458 --> 00:42:00.280
you're going to be
misunderstood.

be5c8e1a-4ffe-4840-b228-beb863d495e0-0
00:42:02.430 --> 00:42:06.300
Here she is protesting in 1981.

75b33b34-54e3-4d25-9553-439d76cef433-0
00:42:10.650 --> 00:42:12.040
Do we have audio on this one?

674a823d-c10d-4c02-81e3-066c1b9e3cce-0
00:42:17.820 --> 00:42:18.970
OK, maybe we don't.

3321c8e6-7221-4be9-bfe9-19b07777a2a1-0
00:42:20.350 --> 00:42:25.027
Because it is the first ********
**** film to run in a commercial

3321c8e6-7221-4be9-bfe9-19b07777a2a1-1
00:42:25.027 --> 00:42:29.563
theater in Vancouver, it's our
chance to ask the government why

3321c8e6-7221-4be9-bfe9-19b07777a2a1-2
00:42:29.563 --> 00:42:34.099
they don't keep the law. We are
addressing the attorney general

3321c8e6-7221-4be9-bfe9-19b07777a2a1-3
00:42:34.099 --> 00:42:37.784
in particular. We are also
getting to our political

3321c8e6-7221-4be9-bfe9-19b07777a2a1-4
00:42:37.784 --> 00:42:41.470
representatives at the
provincial level as well as.

464847b0-199f-4584-a96c-28f983f15f69-0
00:42:42.830 --> 00:42:46.777
Our Crown Council and those that
have the involvement with the

464847b0-199f-4584-a96c-28f983f15f69-1
00:42:46.777 --> 00:42:50.286
law, we're claiming that
******** *********** dumped on

464847b0-199f-4584-a96c-28f983f15f69-2
00:42:50.286 --> 00:42:53.795
us. By God. Bob Guccione, the
fellow with the Penthouse

464847b0-199f-4584-a96c-28f983f15f69-3
00:42:53.795 --> 00:42:57.554
magazine and his millions. It's
something Vancouver doesn't

464847b0-199f-4584-a96c-28f983f15f69-4
00:42:57.554 --> 00:43:00.875
need. We have community
standards. So that's Bernice

464847b0-199f-4584-a96c-28f983f15f69-5
00:43:00.875 --> 00:43:04.384
Gerard. In 1981 in downtown
Vancouver, she's protesting

464847b0-199f-4584-a96c-28f983f15f69-6
00:43:04.384 --> 00:43:07.580
against a film that was
screening called Caligula.

054df929-2dc5-43b2-84fe-4f13cc907177-0
00:43:09.110 --> 00:43:13.273
She was protesting publicly, as
the clip says. And if you want

054df929-2dc5-43b2-84fe-4f13cc907177-1
00:43:13.273 --> 00:43:17.041
to hear more of that's on
YouTube, just Google for news.

054df929-2dc5-43b2-84fe-4f13cc907177-2
00:43:17.041 --> 00:43:21.006
Gerard Caligula up it comes. She
was protesting that public

054df929-2dc5-43b2-84fe-4f13cc907177-3
00:43:21.006 --> 00:43:25.104
entertainment should violate
community standards, and that is

054df929-2dc5-43b2-84fe-4f13cc907177-4
00:43:25.104 --> 00:43:29.202
the actual language from the
legislation. Community standards

054df929-2dc5-43b2-84fe-4f13cc907177-5
00:43:29.202 --> 00:43:33.035
of decency. Her voice on that
occasion was angry. She was

054df929-2dc5-43b2-84fe-4f13cc907177-6
00:43:33.035 --> 00:43:36.010
outraged. This was the Prophet
speaking out.

b3340938-97dd-46d6-9dc3-be0e58ba9cb8-0
00:43:38.310 --> 00:43:41.598
Now, it was typical for some
conservative Christians to

b3340938-97dd-46d6-9dc3-be0e58ba9cb8-1
00:43:41.598 --> 00:43:45.063
object to the changing social
and sexual mores in Canadian

b3340938-97dd-46d6-9dc3-be0e58ba9cb8-2
00:43:45.063 --> 00:43:47.060
society during the Trudeau
years.

5de2114a-fd15-430c-8741-fafc4504877a-0
00:43:48.040 --> 00:43:52.560
1968 to 79 and then his big
comeback 1980 to 84.

08527a5a-dde8-492d-855b-a0055a0ac74a-0
00:43:53.730 --> 00:43:55.200
But it was not typical.

6425acf4-30f4-4547-87c3-d25263d196d6-0
00:43:56.400 --> 00:43:57.620
For Pentecostals.

e8af7ab4-8bef-470a-80d9-c126ed0af00e-0
00:43:58.410 --> 00:44:04.560
To speak about and act upon
their own testimonies of abuse.

219013bb-75f1-42de-b689-008ab11611ab-0
00:44:06.160 --> 00:44:09.310
This is Bernice Gerrard at the
age of 13.

0bdacc7f-64fd-4bdf-a159-ff23b7a49693-0
00:44:11.240 --> 00:44:15.092
Gerard realized that some of her
fellow believers did not

0bdacc7f-64fd-4bdf-a159-ff23b7a49693-1
00:44:15.092 --> 00:44:19.342
understand her outspoken ways.
They told her she was making all

0bdacc7f-64fd-4bdf-a159-ff23b7a49693-2
00:44:19.342 --> 00:44:23.394
conservatives look ridiculous,
ridiculously out of step with

0bdacc7f-64fd-4bdf-a159-ff23b7a49693-3
00:44:23.394 --> 00:44:27.379
the changing social morays of
1980s Vancouver. Calmed down,

0bdacc7f-64fd-4bdf-a159-ff23b7a49693-4
00:44:27.379 --> 00:44:31.098
hush up Bernice. They were
shocked when she revealed to

0bdacc7f-64fd-4bdf-a159-ff23b7a49693-5
00:44:31.098 --> 00:44:35.216
them. Yeah, she said. I went to
the film, I watched the whole

0bdacc7f-64fd-4bdf-a159-ff23b7a49693-6
00:44:35.216 --> 00:44:39.068
thing. I did it so I could speak
with authority about the

0bdacc7f-64fd-4bdf-a159-ff23b7a49693-7
00:44:39.068 --> 00:44:40.330
disgusting content.

abd4ba21-552a-48d3-883d-14d0b0863ae6-0
00:44:42.250 --> 00:44:46.770
Just like Moses, lots of her
followers did not understand.

c556f2ac-9c17-403a-bb44-d0c4056a23c0-0
00:44:49.170 --> 00:44:53.732
So it's the angry Prophet, is
it? After several years in her

c556f2ac-9c17-403a-bb44-d0c4056a23c0-1
00:44:53.732 --> 00:44:58.070
archives, I actually hear
something else in that outraged

c556f2ac-9c17-403a-bb44-d0c4056a23c0-2
00:44:58.070 --> 00:45:00.240
voice. I do hear the prophet.

1118fd86-dcd3-445b-a93f-ac6cd208a725-0
00:45:01.860 --> 00:45:05.970
When she turned 65 years of age,
though, Gerard wrote her

1118fd86-dcd3-445b-a93f-ac6cd208a725-1
00:45:05.970 --> 00:45:10.151
autobiography for the second
time, and this time she spoke

1118fd86-dcd3-445b-a93f-ac6cd208a725-2
00:45:10.151 --> 00:45:14.120
about the sexual abuse that she
had endured as a child.

c1afd3dd-ca20-4526-ac58-43cc5c1d5cef-0
00:45:14.990 --> 00:45:19.833
She revealed that at the age of
65, she was still experiencing

c1afd3dd-ca20-4526-ac58-43cc5c1d5cef-1
00:45:19.833 --> 00:45:20.910
night terrors.

00e23306-586a-49e9-a05d-f1baf4b20924-0
00:45:21.780 --> 00:45:24.730
About her adoptive father's
assaults.

9eb8455b-e37e-46a2-93cc-4b66473999b2-0
00:45:27.120 --> 00:45:31.138
So when Gerard spoke in anger
about sexual violence against

9eb8455b-e37e-46a2-93cc-4b66473999b2-1
00:45:31.138 --> 00:45:31.540
women.

ac9e10a4-3200-49cc-bd21-d7a9788874bd-0
00:45:32.270 --> 00:45:36.978
She spoke from experience, I'm
sorry to say, childhood

ac9e10a4-3200-49cc-bd21-d7a9788874bd-1
00:45:36.978 --> 00:45:37.920
experience.

4ba3e554-b398-4bc9-bbb3-ca1ce0bb0284-0
00:45:39.050 --> 00:45:43.243
And while the political
cartoonist looked at her and saw

4ba3e554-b398-4bc9-bbb3-ca1ce0bb0284-1
00:45:43.243 --> 00:45:47.657
comical hyper moralist from born
in the wrong century, this

4ba3e554-b398-4bc9-bbb3-ca1ce0bb0284-2
00:45:47.657 --> 00:45:50.380
biographer looks at these two
faces.

cf4e6558-395c-4955-a430-5462b7066567-0
00:45:51.740 --> 00:45:57.515
And what I see and what I hear,
I hear the outrage of an abuse

cf4e6558-395c-4955-a430-5462b7066567-1
00:45:57.515 --> 00:45:58.340
survivor.

a2320781-9ccd-42d0-89aa-a190008205c6-0
00:45:59.200 --> 00:46:02.594
When she spoke on that sidewalk
to protest pornographic

a2320781-9ccd-42d0-89aa-a190008205c6-1
00:46:02.594 --> 00:46:04.110
entertainment, she spoke.

544ad177-8d3b-4cae-b0a2-e177c625f12d-0
00:46:05.100 --> 00:46:09.785
With the voice she first found
at the age of 13, when she

544ad177-8d3b-4cae-b0a2-e177c625f12d-1
00:46:09.785 --> 00:46:14.633
didn't sound so prophetic or
courageous or loud. But at the

544ad177-8d3b-4cae-b0a2-e177c625f12d-2
00:46:14.633 --> 00:46:19.157
age of 13, she revealed her
terrible secret to a school

544ad177-8d3b-4cae-b0a2-e177c625f12d-3
00:46:19.157 --> 00:46:21.500
teacher and a preacher woman.

e5855310-8c99-4e8d-941d-d4a9d2eaa098-0
00:46:22.160 --> 00:46:26.881
Who acted swiftly to take her
out of that adoptive home and

e5855310-8c99-4e8d-941d-d4a9d2eaa098-1
00:46:26.881 --> 00:46:31.523
into the care of the Child
Protection Agency. Bernice grew

e5855310-8c99-4e8d-941d-d4a9d2eaa098-2
00:46:31.523 --> 00:46:32.940
up in foster care.

0acd1700-cc13-40cd-b2e5-9bb249b0ae5e-0
00:46:34.110 --> 00:46:38.587
And let me tell you, Bernice
knew first hand all about

0acd1700-cc13-40cd-b2e5-9bb249b0ae5e-1
00:46:38.587 --> 00:46:39.890
hashtag. Me too.

a02a4015-d35c-438c-9a27-b678416e2f19-0
00:46:44.610 --> 00:46:48.686
Among Canadian Pentecostals,
Bernice Girard was an unusual

a02a4015-d35c-438c-9a27-b678416e2f19-1
00:46:48.686 --> 00:46:52.554
voice. Yes, she was a lady
baritone, and yes, she was a

a02a4015-d35c-438c-9a27-b678416e2f19-2
00:46:52.554 --> 00:46:56.769
powerful preacher. But that's
not all. In the year 2000, the

a02a4015-d35c-438c-9a27-b678416e2f19-3
00:46:56.769 --> 00:47:00.776
Vancouver Sun named her as the
most significant spiritual

a02a4015-d35c-438c-9a27-b678416e2f19-4
00:47:00.776 --> 00:47:05.197
influencer of the 20th century
in British Columbia. Now, to get

a02a4015-d35c-438c-9a27-b678416e2f19-5
00:47:05.197 --> 00:47:08.030
a title like that, you can't be
typical.

440df363-c860-4183-9a5b-e25ef6e6b906-0
00:47:09.180 --> 00:47:12.483
She was atypical. She was
ordained in the 1940s, and four

440df363-c860-4183-9a5b-e25ef6e6b906-1
00:47:12.483 --> 00:47:15.730
decades later she was still
speaking up to challenge the

440df363-c860-4183-9a5b-e25ef6e6b906-2
00:47:15.730 --> 00:47:19.147
patriarchal culture of her
denomination that denied women's

440df363-c860-4183-9a5b-e25ef6e6b906-3
00:47:19.147 --> 00:47:20.970
ordination and governance roles.

ca811fc1-dad9-4452-996e-40e95a944e05-0
00:47:22.240 --> 00:47:24.994
Oh, and by the way, she was the
lifelong partner of another

ca811fc1-dad9-4452-996e-40e95a944e05-1
00:47:24.994 --> 00:47:25.270
woman.

7436957c-169f-47cb-a6f1-86fe15242b9f-0
00:47:26.160 --> 00:47:27.810
In ministry and in life.

02fa5898-6168-49f4-b174-b263ab39d778-0
00:47:28.510 --> 00:47:29.600
That's not typical.

8b17525a-ac57-4c06-bab4-4b4038446bfd-0
00:47:31.110 --> 00:47:34.122
She made her arguments about
women's ordination using

8b17525a-ac57-4c06-bab4-4b4038446bfd-1
00:47:34.122 --> 00:47:36.410
feminist rhetoric. Jesus was a
feminist.

5500d43d-56fb-4551-ac39-a3fa0e3da2a2-0
00:47:37.770 --> 00:47:41.314
That's what she said. That's not
typical. She hosted a very

5500d43d-56fb-4551-ac39-a3fa0e3da2a2-1
00:47:41.314 --> 00:47:44.977
popular radio open line show.
She engaged with listeners with

5500d43d-56fb-4551-ac39-a3fa0e3da2a2-2
00:47:44.977 --> 00:47:48.463
compassion and intelligence. She
was a campus insider. She

5500d43d-56fb-4551-ac39-a3fa0e3da2a2-3
00:47:48.463 --> 00:47:51.712
challenged faulty logic among
professors. She earned a

5500d43d-56fb-4551-ac39-a3fa0e3da2a2-4
00:47:51.712 --> 00:47:54.430
graduate degree defending Milton
as Orthodox.

13e8bcd1-adcf-4fb1-b7ad-a61526aa2cd6-0
00:47:55.290 --> 00:47:58.682
And inspiring as a model of
ministry, she served as a campus

13e8bcd1-adcf-4fb1-b7ad-a61526aa2cd6-1
00:47:58.682 --> 00:48:02.185
chaplain among her male peers
from the historic denominations.

13e8bcd1-adcf-4fb1-b7ad-a61526aa2cd6-2
00:48:02.185 --> 00:48:04.410
And that led her to embrace a
humanism.

63d620a7-8ecb-40b8-b5dd-46c81a6844e2-0
00:48:05.310 --> 00:48:08.840
And to be a very early adopter
of the charismatic movement.

1b110f80-8101-4ac7-a446-9808038152bb-0
00:48:09.740 --> 00:48:10.870
That's not typical.

b98b820c-fffa-4e04-a811-0417c361e547-0
00:48:11.600 --> 00:48:13.240
She joined Catholic colleagues.

f60bb94d-2307-4feb-977b-c03ee2f6261c-0
00:48:14.100 --> 00:48:18.161
That's not typical. She prayed
with them every week. She

f60bb94d-2307-4feb-977b-c03ee2f6261c-1
00:48:18.161 --> 00:48:22.222
protested abortion with them.
She spoke out on behalf of

f60bb94d-2307-4feb-977b-c03ee2f6261c-2
00:48:22.222 --> 00:48:22.650
women.

4721ddbe-4b03-4959-9baa-bb447d2c275a-0
00:48:24.620 --> 00:48:29.336
And she expressed it as
opposition to women and sexual

4721ddbe-4b03-4959-9baa-bb447d2c275a-1
00:48:29.336 --> 00:48:33.110
violence because she was an
abuse survivor.

f571221c-f208-4667-89d8-decbc02a2352-0
00:48:33.730 --> 00:48:36.160
Maybe that's more typical than
I'd like to admit.

8f1aea83-b971-4c8d-b540-a84ae7eb8958-0
00:48:37.170 --> 00:48:41.583
So if Bernice Gerard is a good
model for women in ministry, is

8f1aea83-b971-4c8d-b540-a84ae7eb8958-1
00:48:41.583 --> 00:48:45.716
she a good model for 21st
century Pentecostal women? Well,

8f1aea83-b971-4c8d-b540-a84ae7eb8958-2
00:48:45.716 --> 00:48:49.919
I'll say to the women in the
room and on zoom it should you

8f1aea83-b971-4c8d-b540-a84ae7eb8958-3
00:48:49.919 --> 00:48:51.460
decide to emulate her.

b6a5a6d8-44e6-40b5-ac51-787ac1cc8cdf-0
00:48:52.430 --> 00:48:55.991
Get ready. Brace yourself. There
will be consequences.

b6a5a6d8-44e6-40b5-ac51-787ac1cc8cdf-1
00:48:55.991 --> 00:48:59.100
Consequences for invoking a
Gerard Esque voice.

656490e1-77f0-4a8b-8e86-7e65bdcf7612-0
00:49:00.030 --> 00:49:03.852
Your nostalgic members longing
for a return of the good old

656490e1-77f0-4a8b-8e86-7e65bdcf7612-1
00:49:03.852 --> 00:49:07.737
days of 10th meeting revivals
might not understand you, your

656490e1-77f0-4a8b-8e86-7e65bdcf7612-2
00:49:07.737 --> 00:49:11.368
governance gatekeepers who
remind you of how it's always

656490e1-77f0-4a8b-8e86-7e65bdcf7612-3
00:49:11.368 --> 00:49:12.770
been done around here.

e0fc37dd-0be5-42f9-bcd8-cb3147f1b336-0
00:49:14.090 --> 00:49:15.690
Might seek to put you in your
place.

863b6776-5514-473b-8152-7b8fef421bee-0
00:49:16.600 --> 00:49:20.121
And even leaders who think they
are defenders of women in

863b6776-5514-473b-8152-7b8fef421bee-1
00:49:20.121 --> 00:49:23.764
leadership might not recognize
what it is you're proposing,

863b6776-5514-473b-8152-7b8fef421bee-2
00:49:23.764 --> 00:49:24.250
exactly.

b0769be5-3afd-47af-9c2f-80e9b2ad9745-0
00:49:26.250 --> 00:49:30.349
But maybe she does have
something to say. Maybe, maybe

b0769be5-3afd-47af-9c2f-80e9b2ad9745-1
00:49:30.349 --> 00:49:35.119
if we could put away some of the
tired debates about gender and

b0769be5-3afd-47af-9c2f-80e9b2ad9745-2
00:49:35.119 --> 00:49:39.592
leadership, about theological
puzzles and angels dancing on

b0769be5-3afd-47af-9c2f-80e9b2ad9745-3
00:49:39.592 --> 00:49:43.989
the heads of pins, and if we
could set aside some invented

b0769be5-3afd-47af-9c2f-80e9b2ad9745-4
00:49:43.989 --> 00:49:48.760
moral panics, maybe voices like
gerards could provide traction.

de7ee471-e6a7-4e0b-84d5-80c38340d1bf-0
00:49:49.640 --> 00:49:54.022
And some new ministry models.
She wasn't very typical, but she

de7ee471-e6a7-4e0b-84d5-80c38340d1bf-1
00:49:54.022 --> 00:49:57.570
was very effective. She was not
anti intellectual.

58066ac5-4b5a-460a-a61e-2a49117f2ef5-0
00:49:58.650 --> 00:50:03.001
And there was no man standing by
her side. She wasn't in a

58066ac5-4b5a-460a-a61e-2a49117f2ef5-1
00:50:03.001 --> 00:50:05.140
heteronormative relationship.

9a3ce71b-ea48-485e-af2e-35e681b071cd-0
00:50:06.820 --> 00:50:10.448
He had no time for liberalism,
literalism, literalism

9a3ce71b-ea48-485e-af2e-35e681b071cd-1
00:50:10.448 --> 00:50:14.346
weaponized to reinforce the
patriarchy or even to support

9a3ce71b-ea48-485e-af2e-35e681b071cd-2
00:50:14.346 --> 00:50:16.430
complementarianism. She didn't.

5b15829f-4f56-48dd-b367-199a363e0233-0
00:50:17.480 --> 00:50:22.842
She was deeply moved by abused
women because she understood she

5b15829f-4f56-48dd-b367-199a363e0233-1
00:50:22.842 --> 00:50:24.770
had survived abuse too.

3d249e64-435e-471d-a4c1-b17fe387e064-0
00:50:26.460 --> 00:50:30.985
So I will say in closing, post
pandemic leaders who sincerely

3d249e64-435e-471d-a4c1-b17fe387e064-1
00:50:30.985 --> 00:50:35.000
wish to hear Pentecostal women's
voices from the past.

ae49066f-e0f0-4652-8c69-d84b50fcb66b-0
00:50:36.200 --> 00:50:41.216
Need to move on beyond nostalgia
and make way for some

ae49066f-e0f0-4652-8c69-d84b50fcb66b-1
00:50:41.216 --> 00:50:45.230
complicated and difficult
stories? Imagine.

f06729b6-6b95-4a56-bf7c-3f6e482a2628-0
00:50:46.950 --> 00:50:49.884
Claiming to welcome women into
leadership, but then putting

f06729b6-6b95-4a56-bf7c-3f6e482a2628-1
00:50:49.884 --> 00:50:50.960
limits on their gifts.

88da2d54-adae-493f-ba15-0f22a0780ee9-0
00:50:51.610 --> 00:50:55.973
Claiming to welcome women in
governance and then blocking

88da2d54-adae-493f-ba15-0f22a0780ee9-1
00:50:55.973 --> 00:50:56.350
them.

b9fc14dd-a5c6-4bed-a3bb-33d61eb73492-0
00:50:57.000 --> 00:50:58.740
Blocking their ministry careers.

0cce5c3c-e3b3-4349-af7a-2910e61a7f76-0
00:50:59.650 --> 00:51:04.655
Or here's one for the pandemic
times, claiming to want to hear

0cce5c3c-e3b3-4349-af7a-2910e61a7f76-1
00:51:04.655 --> 00:51:08.230
women but never turning off the
mute button.

f645bc1d-6e0f-41b1-809e-b965e89a83c8-0
00:51:10.560 --> 00:51:15.269
That's a recipe for cognitive
dissonance, my friends, and it's

f645bc1d-6e0f-41b1-809e-b965e89a83c8-1
00:51:15.269 --> 00:51:20.203
a far more problematic situation
than something as confusing as a

f645bc1d-6e0f-41b1-809e-b965e89a83c8-2
00:51:20.203 --> 00:51:21.250
lady baritone.

f5c29780-1538-4218-8c65-179d0cf48ebe-0
00:51:22.020 --> 00:51:22.630
Thank you.

2766891c-0e77-4580-94db-91de72b2bfdc-0
00:51:24.160 --> 00:51:24.890