Popular Vancouver evangelist drew strength from John Paul II

By Laureen McMahon

The Reverend Bernice Gerard, a well-known Christian evangelist with a distinctive low-pitched voice who served as an alderman in Vancouver in the 1970s, died from complications of Parkinson's disease Nov. 1. She was 84.

Shortly after being diagnosed with Parkinson's, Rev. Gerard said in an interview that she was drawing strength in her fight with the disease from the example of Pope John Paul II, among others.

Rev. Gerard served as a chaplain at the University of B.C. and was the moderator for many years of Sunday Line, a Christian program on both radio and television. She co-founded Pacific Academy, a private Christian School in Surrey, and 200 other Pentecostal churches, including her home church of Fraserview Assembly on Victoria Drive (now known as Harvest City Church).

In 2000 the charismatic preacher topped a Vancouver Sun list of the century's 25 most influential spiritual figures in B.C. (Former Vancouver Archbishop Adam Exner, OMI, was named to the same list.)

While serving as alderman, Rev. Gerard's fight to close down the clothing-optional Wreck Beach at Spanish Banks brought her national and international attention, and a fair amount of ridicule from those who opposed her. She told one interviewer at the time that she considered it vital for Christians to be willing to battle the anti-Christian cultural influences they observe in the world around them.

"I've never felt that we have to win," she said, "but we have to stand up.... Biblically, we're given an opportunity to act and give our witness, but we don't guarantee that we have to be successful. I feel strongly that we need to take our place in the community and do whatever we can to witness and to let our light shine."

Rev. Gerard was a special guest of honour in 2001 at the Focus on Life benefit dinner, where she was thanked for her many years of support for pro-life causes. She also served on many boards of Christian organizations across Canada, including that of 100 Huntley Street, and was a travelling evangelist throughout Europe and North and Central America.

Her autobiography, entitled Bernice Gerard: Today and For Life, recounts her experiences as an adopted child living in an alcoholic home where neglect and abuse were part of everyday life.

However, she wrote, after she accepted Christ at the age of 12, a Christian preacher was instrumental in her removal from her home and she became a charge of Children's Aid in Vancouver.

"One reason I have such confidence in the simple Gospel," Rev. Gerard said, "is because of what it did for me as a child. They told me there was One Whose name was Jesus Who took little children up in His arms and blessed them. He was totally loving and kind. I didn't really know any men that were like that ... I gave my life to the Lord."