John

JOHN ANDERSON, CO-PASTOR

John Anderson came to St. John’s in December of 1991, after serving in youth ministry, pastorates in Minneapolis, and as a chaplain in a Scottish boarding school. He sees today’s urban church at the cutting edge of understanding God’s presence in the world, especially San Francisco. Born out of his experience growing up in a suburban setting, while being nurtured in an urban church, he struggled with what seemed to be two different realities. Personal faith must be expressed in service to a world crying out for peace and justice. Today, John sees San Francisco as a place where one is free to live out the values of self-sufficiency, isolation and financial tail-chasing or values that engage issues through community, involvement and compassion. He believes it is a great, safe place to raise children, in the midst of diversity and opportunity, glimpsing what all our world will eventually look like.

He is proud to be part of a denomination and a congregation that lives out inclusivity and openenss to God’s leading, and is continually amazed at the accepting and vulnerable congregation of St. John’s, feeling incredibly privileged to serve here. He pursued his Doctor of Ministry focusing on the need within our success-driven culture for adults to journey spiritually with attitudes of; the freedom to fail, creativity, surprise, humor, wonder, self-expression, imagination, questioning, vulnerability and discovery.

He and his life partner, Nancy McEvers Anderson, have been married since 1973 and have three grown sons, and two granddaughters. He enjoys cycling, skiing, hiking, historical novels and film.