Associate pastor at St. John's Church since August 2013.

Instructor in the dept. of Sociology and Anthropology.

I’m as surprised as anyone else by the fact that I’m a Jesuit – and, as of this past summer, a priest. This is especially because my family is unequivocally wonderful, but not particularly religious. With them I’ve lived all over the country (Charlestown, New Orleans, Salem, Oregon, Phoenix), and since I’ve been a Jesuit that list has only grown (Omaha, Milwaukee, Chicago, the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Berkeley, and now Omaha again). All that movement has taught my heart that travel is great, but roots are better.

I am myself an ‘02 graduate of Creighton, and it is here that I first met the Jesuits, the lay faculty and staff, and the friends who sparked the desire to be a Jesuit and a priest. Being back in such a warm and welcoming community is an unqualified gift, and being able to be a part of the Online Reflections team only adds to that.

In addition to my work at Creighton I am the founding editor-in-chief of The Jesuit Post ( http://thejesuitpost.org), an online magazine that writes about a faith that does relevance. We cover pop-culture, politics, sports, and everything in between, all from an Ignatian perspective.

Writing these reflections:

My own experience is that when the rubber of scripture hits the road of my own heart and mind it leaves tracks. And often changes my direction. In my preaching and writing about the life of faith my central goals are, in turn, twofold: 1) to be real, not to use jargon or “religious” words, and 2) to allow myself to be changed by the Lord who, as Anne Lamott wrote, “meets us where we are and does not leave us where [he] found us.”

e-mail: pgilgersj@gmail.com
web page: http://thejesuitpost.org
Twitter: paddygilgersj