Pentecostal Preacher Woman The Faith and Feminism of Bernice Gerard

Follows the life of a Canadian Evangelical pastor who blurred the lines between conservative and progressive values.

Evangelical pastor, talk-show host, and politician–Reverend Bernice Gerard (1923-2008) was all of this and more. Pentecostal Preacher Woman explores Gerard’s life as one of the most influential spiritual figures of twentieth-century British Columbia, whose complicated blend of social conservatism and social compassion contains lessons for our polarized times.

Coming out of a difficult childhood, Gerard was attracted to Pentecostalism’s emphasis on direct personal experience of God and the use of spiritual gifts, and she eventually became an international evangelist. As a pastor, radio personality, and alderperson, she was a compelling communicator for the Christian right and an ardent critic of liberal social mores, yet she supported social justice for refugees, Indigenous people, and Vancouver’s homeless population. She remained rooted in patriarchal religious institutions but also practiced a kind of feminism and shared her life with a female partner.

Based on Reverend Gerard’s personal archives and writings, Pentecostal Preacher Woman traces the complex evolution of a conservative woman’s ideas about faith and society.