Reverend Dr. John Forrest and his wife Dr. Deborah Blincoe
Rev. Dr. John Forrest was born in Buenos Aires in 1951, but spent most of his childhood in rural South Australia where he developed a strong interest in "bush" songs, that is the traditional folk songs of the Australian outback. In 1967 he moved to England and completed his secondary education there before going on to Oxford University to study theology. During his undergraduate years he developed an interest in English folklore and spent four years collecting songs, music, and dances from traditional performers, as well as training himself in local styles of dance and song. After two years teaching in secondary schools in England, and doing library research on English traditions he moved to the United States to pursue graduate research in folklore. Having completed an MA at the University of North Carolina, he became a doctoral candidate in cultural anthropology. For the Ph.D. dissertation he spent a year in the coastal swamps of eastern North Carolina studying rural religious traditions. He received the Ph.D. in 1980 and his dissertation was published as Lord I'm Coming Home: Everyday Aesthetics in Tidewater, North Carolina (Cornell U.P). Upon graduation he was hired as an assistant professor at SUNY College at Purchase, where he is now a full professor and head of the department. He continues to research traditional music and dance, and their relationship to religious practices. His most recent book, The History of Morris Dancing: 1458-1750 (U. of Toronto Press), explores the effect of the Puritan revolution in England on music and dance traditions.
In 1995 Rev. Forrest became an inquirer for ordination within the Presbyterian Church (USA). Upon acceptance he became first a student intern and then designated pastor at Livingston Manor Presbyterian church, in Sullivan County, New York, where he served as solo pastor for four years. He was ordained as a minister of the word and sacrament by the Presbytery of Hudson River in 1997. In January 2000 he was called by Stony Point Presbyterian Church to serve as designated pastor.
Rev. Forrest continues his interests in traditional music and how it can be used in worship settings. He has written many pieces, including a Christmas cantata -- "The Shepherds," based on traditional tunes for use by worship choirs. He is also currently engaged in research that pulls together his interests in theology and anthropology. His next book is a commentary on Genesis that draws on the archeology and anthropology of the ancient Near East.
Rev. Forrest is married to Dr. Deborah Blincoe who is also a professional folklorist and anthropologist. They have a son, Badger, and live in western Orange County, New York.
