John Gedrick has worked in school ministry for over a decade, spending the majority of his years at Trinity-Pawling teaching courses on religion and serving as the School’s Chaplain. Through his duties as both a teacher and chaplain, Gedrick aims to enhance the community through inclusiveness and open mindedness whether it is in the classroom or during Chapel–where many life lessons are learned. “If there is an understanding or a belief that I would like students to know it is that God is so much more and so much bigger than we can ever hope to understand or believe. I hope that somehow the Chapel is a place where we come into that big embrace of the divine, and I hope that students and faculty realize that God is by His/Her/Its definition, inclusive,“ Gedrick explains.
Not only does Gedrick aim to model the sentiments of inclusiveness within the walls of Trinity-Pawling’s campus, he also supports various community service efforts that benefit those not in the Trinity-Pawling community. “The one thing that I love about community service at Trinity-Pawling is that it really comes from the heart and the desire of individual people on campus to do something they feel is important. I’ve always found that my role is to support that, and the chapel’s role is to show that God is this big, inclusive being. One way we can practice that inclusiveness is to honor all of these community service efforts and realize that there’s a world out there that needs people who care about it,” Gedrick says.
In reflecting on his time spent at Trinity-Pawling, Gedrick explains, “The best part of working at Trinity-Pawling is feeling that I am among a community of kind people who are trying to work out their faith, whatever it is. There’s no better way to build trust than to know you have a common goal with other people, students and adults alike.”