Congregational Church welcomes new minister

The Rev. Dr. Gary Klingsporn PHOTO BY MARGARET CARROLL-BERGMAN Nantucket is a long way from his boyhood home of the Missouri Ozarks, but Rev. Gary Klingsporn, the new minister at the First Congregational Church in Nantucket is up for the adventure. Klingsporn and his wife Debra moved into the parsonage on Centre Street last week and are already settling into island life. “I wanted to work in a small church in a smaller community,” said Klingsporn, who moved here from the Minneapolis area. “I hope to get to know people and welcome them into our lives.” A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Baylor University, Klingsporn received his Ph.D. in New Testament studies in 1985. During his graduate school years, he taught in the Baylor Religion Department and worked as an academic editor for a Christian publishing house. In 1988, Klingsporn accepted a position at the Colonial Church in Edina, Minnesota, where he served as Teaching Minister, Minister of Spiritual Formation and in the role of executive pastor. “I’ll be bringing my years of experience as a teacher and a pastor,” said Klingsporn. Klingsporn also hopes to help the congregation deepen its faith experience. “How one might live out his or her faith in the daily world. ... The way we treat people and live and work in a community,” said Klingsporn. “When you are on an island, it is a different kind of experience. Part of my work will be to make the congregation grow.”

Another challenge will be how to make the church responsive to the needs of the community.

“How is the church different now than it was 30 years ago?” he asked.

When Klingsporn received his doctorate degree, he and Debra toured New England for a couple of weeks.

“I knew that I wanted to work in a small New England town,” he said.

While they loved their years in Minnesota where they raised their daughters, Laura, a nursing student and Kari, an art student, Klingsporn’s dream has finally come to realization.

“It’s surreal,” he said. “The island is so unique. The people are very welcoming and down to earth. We love the way that people are interested in community and historic preservation.” I