Readers: you’ve been telling me this week what a relief it is to
hear the news that in spite of having a stroke, Garrison Keillor’s
season opener of
”
Prairie Home Companion
”
will indeed grace our airwaves this Saturday night. The radio
show celebrated its 35th year on the air this July when 10,000 fans
gathered together to hear the broadcast live as it was performed in
Avon, a central Minnesota town that is one of the inspirations for
Keillor’s imaginary hometown of Lake Wobegon.
Readers: you’ve been telling me this week what a relief it is to hear the news that in spite of having a stroke, Garrison Keillor’s season opener of “Prairie Home Companion” will indeed grace our airwaves this Saturday night. The radio show celebrated its 35th year on the air this July when 10,000 fans gathered together to hear the broadcast live as it was performed in Avon, a central Minnesota town that is one of the inspirations for Keillor’s imaginary hometown of Lake Wobegon.
The reason I bring this up is because I often feel as if Gilroy is my Lake Wobegon. Not that anyone could aspire to Keillor’s expertise in painting a portrait of the perfect hometown. But I have been a lot of places in my life and times, and I can tell you that Gilroy is unique in my experience. I have found such a sense of community in the close-knit group of wise, witty, and compassionate people at the core of Gilroy. I am forever changed for the better by the gifts, talents, and love of the people of this community.
On this, the 8 year anniversary of writing this column about Gilroy, I simply cannot conceive of what my life would be like had I never come to Gilroy, and I want to take this opportunity to thank each one of you.
You – each one of you – who has corresponded with me has changed my life for the better. Every time you sit with me and tell me your unique stories of courage, overcoming the odds, and altruism, I feel so honored and so humbled.
This past year, you wrote to say how you enjoyed the many connections explored in the column, such as my discovery that I had a long lost relative from Oklahoma living right here less than two miles from my doorstep. Or the story about finding out on a trip to Salem, Mass., that my Gilroy United Methodist pastor was a direct descendant of one of the Salem witches hung during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692.
So you can imagine how excited I was when I found out that a new character coming to our town, Pastor Shim Habte – or Pastor Shim, as he likes to be called – has an unexpected connection to a longtime well-known and beloved Gilroyan. There was a columnist who came before me in the Dispatch, Chuck Myer, who wrote about many of the same folks in the community that I do. He was inspired to do so for 10 years until his wife’s job took them out of the area. Many of you have followed Myer’s continuing story over the past eight years in my column
Myer was employed as a city planner in Gilroy and he was largely responsible for saving historic buildings such as the Old City Hall. He was known for his goodwill and activism all around town. When he discovered that he had skin cancer, many of you followed his ups and downs in this column – and thanks to you – the fundraisers we did to get his memoir published were a great success. When I put in the column that he had a book coming out to help other cancer patients, “Melanoma Melodrama,” many of you bought copies, with the proceeds going to help Myer’s family after he passed away. That’s the kind of community this is.
Recently, when local Methodist pastor Alison Berry was transferred to Alamo, a new pastor was assigned to Gilroy by the Methodist Bishop. Six feet tall and slender in frame, Pastor Shim hails originally from Ethiopia. A young and energetic 55 years, he served as pastor for a number of churches and as missionary to Jamaica. Shim will be the first African-American senior pastor to head a church in Gilroy.
Shim’s surpising Gilroy connection came to light at the first staff meeting with the new pastor. It turns out that Myer was good friends with Shim. In fact, when Myer was first diagnosed with melanoma, Shim was the person he called for counseling about how to tell his family the difficult news.
You have to understand that Shim could have been assigned to any Methodist church in all of northern California or the state of Nevada. But just by chance, he was sent to the same community that meant so much to his good friend Myer. It’s the kind of weird and wonderful Gilroy coincidence that makes this such an inspiring place to live in and write about.
Pastor Shim recently sat down with the Dispatch’s religion columnist Chuck Flagg to tell the dramatic story of his journey from Africa to Gilroy. Keep an eye out for Flagg’s column in an upcoming Lifestyles section.
Meet Pastor Shim
Pastor Shim will be meeting members of the the community at an upcoming lunch.
-What: Greet ‘N Grub Potluck with the Pastor
-When: Meet and greet starts at 10 a.m.; lunch served at 11:30 a.m.
-Where: Gilroy United Methodist Church, 7600 Church St.
-How: Bring a dish to share and enjoy
-Details: 842-4021
