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Robert Bernhardt Robert Bernhardt

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RobertBernhardt.com

Robert J. "Bob" Bernhardt

Since I propose to offer my opinions on a variety of important topics it is appropriate that I should right identify myself and acknowledge something about my background and associations.

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My life has largely been defined by my participation in the Christian Church. I am an ordained minister, now officially retired, in the Presbyterian Church in Canada. I was ordained in 1965 at the age of 25 (you can do the math for yourself). Between ordination and retirement I served only two congregations - St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Biggar, Saskatchewan (1965-1971) and Chalmers Presbyterian Church in Hamilton, Ontario (1971-2004). Through out my ministry most of my time and energy has been directed towards a congregational and community focus rather than a denominational one.

As for my personal and academic life, I received all my public and secondary school education in a small Anglophone town in south-western Quebec. I went on to receive a B.A. from Sir George William's University (now Concordia University) in Montreal and a Master of Divinity degree from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. Later in life (1996) I earned a Doctor of Ministry degree also from Westminster Seminary. My wife and I are the parents of three grown daughters and grandparents to four grandchildren. Since 1971 we have made our home in Hamilton, Ontario.

Theologically I am in conscious connection with the ancient creeds of the Church (Apostles' Creed, Nicene Creed, etc.) and the creeds of the Reformation era.

My non-ministerial activities in life have included some free lance radio broadcasting, photography, the producing and hosting of a community cable TV program, regular columnist duties for a Christian periodical for ten years, service for many years on the board of a community agency that provided residential and community programs for troubled youth and young offenders, and the usual sorts of commitments that most clergy fulfill in their community. I have been an avid computer user for almost 40 years and from the beginning I found myself drawn to issues related to the role of computers in the church and the potential offered by the Internet that soon began to blossom so rapidly. Through the years I have designed and maintained a number of websites.

Since its creation in 1999 I have served as a Trustee/Director, and Secretary, to the Priscilla and Stanford Reid Trust which is committed to the support of Reformed and Presbyterian theological education in Canada. This connection has brought me into contact with some of the more interesting and innovative people and various projects being initiated in Reformed theological educational circles in Canada today.

I offer this information not to establish my credentials but merely to introduce the personality behind this website.