New Pastor
Reverend Scott
Wylie
On Sunday, July 1st, 2001, Aldersgate United
Methodist Church will have a new pastor, the Reverend Scott E. Wylie.
Beginning his 15th year of full time Christian
ministry in the United Methodist Church, the 50 year old pastor arrives after
serving five years as pastor of the UMC in Forestville, California. Married to Rev. Denise in Corte Madera, the
Wylie family includes daughter Rachael, age 17, entering Oberlin College [Ohio]
as a freshman music major and Sarah, 14, a freshman at the Arthur Anderson
Community Learning Center, Alameda, where she lives with her mother,
Rev. Wylie holds a Bachelor of Science degree in economics
and Business Administration from the University of Illinois, Urbana, 1973; a
Master of Management (MBA) degree with specialization in finance and
organization behavior from Northwestern University, Chicago, 1979; and a Master
of Divinity (MDiv) degree from Pacifica School of Religion, Berkeley,
1986. Yet his career in ministry is
marked by an emphasis on the spiritual rather than on the institutional aspects
of church work. In 2000, he earned a Diploma
in the Art of Spiritual Direction from San Francisco Theological Seminary, San
Anselmo.
“I don’t know any other ministers who have MBA’s plus
Mdiv’s. Somebody must have noticed,
because I got elected to be President of our Annual Conference’s Council on
Finance and Administration [CFA]. But
there are lots of church people who have administrative gifts.” say Wylie, “Not every community and every
church has someone to lead into the life of Spirit, just as Jesus did. Living life every day under the guidance of
God’s Spirit has become a joyous adventure for me. I want that for the people of Marin County as well.”
“I have been trained to administer and interpret the
Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and like to use that to help people understand
themselves and prayer styles which will suit each person well. People tell me they have found this expanded
understanding of self and spiritual life very rewarding,” Wylie reports. Since we live where people want to be
spiritual, yet do not look to organized religion as a source of spiritual
nurture, the Spiritual Direction and Myers-Briggs training gives a fresh
perspective on pastoral ministry.
“People really do deal with faith and spirituality in different styles,”
believes Scott. “If Christians claim to
know the way to God, we also need to be sensitive to individual spiritual
approaches to faith.”
An avid amateur musician, Scott has played piano and
viola. He studied voice for eight years
and is a trained baritone soloist, looking forward to joining the bass section
in the Aldersgate choir. He owns a
violin, an electric guitar and a bass guitar.
“ I have thrown myself into gaps in church music programs. My instrumental practice time goes where the
church needs it. For special events,
that has been violin. But most Sundays,
I’ve played electric guitar and I’ve bought some lesson books to teach me how
to play rhythm guitar chords. That
serves well for contemporary music in worship or at youth group meetings. Depending on the setting, I may borrow my
wife’s classical style acoustic guitar.
I’m still a hacker, but I’m getting better and it’s fun,” says
Scott. “But I also want to find and
join a community chorus. I go to their
concerts, and if I hear one I like, I’ll go and audition.”
Scott has sung in the Opera Chorus of the San Antonio
[Texas] Symphony, where he appeared in “Aida”, “Faust”, and “Madame
Butterfly.” During his two years as the
associate minister in Carmel, Scott auditioned into the chorus of the Bach
Festival. He has also had chorus parts
in “Pirates of Penzance” by Gilbert & Sullivan and solo roles in some small
community theaters over the years.