The Man in Chico
Karl Giberson
Writer’s Log: Stardate 2-2-12
Some days I earn my keep.
I am in Chico, CA at a really interesting conference called “Scientists in Congregations.” I am feeling quite jet-lagged. The conference has about 80 people from 36 churches across the country, all of which have embarked on projects to try and help their congregations engage science at a meaningful level. The typical church has sent a pastor and a scientist to this conference, so there is a really interesting mix of people.
My day started with a plenary talk to the group, which went very well and got me a few invitations to speak at churches around the country—in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Nebraska. I haven’t been to Colorado for ages so I hope that works out. And then I ran four 45 workshops in the afternoon. Although draining, the conversation was most engaging. It was particularly encouraging that every single participant was strongly committed to addressing anti-science in the church. None of them were inclined to just ignore the problem of creationism, as most evangelical churches do. These Christian leaders understand that ignoring the problem of creationism is one of the reasons why bright young people are leaving evangelical churches.
I was particularly encouraged by several people who sought me out to tell me how much they enjoyed Saving Darwin. They had all received a signed copy of the book as a part of the project and some of them have just finished reading it. That remains my favorite of the books I have written and there is nothing quite so satisfying as having appreciative readers. More than one person talked to me for quite a while about writing and one aspiring writer had dinner with me.
(I had a short break before dinner when I responded to editorial comments about my piece for the Harvard Icthyus, got the ball rolling for a book signing for my forthcoming book, The Wonder of the Universe, and got a few details ironed out for my upcoming talks.)