I was on sabbatical from August 1 to November 30, 2012 from my position in pastoral ministry with the congregation of Yellowknife United Church. The topic I explored during the sabbatical is "The 'spirit' of Open Source", which is also the topic of the presentation I gave at FSOSS.
I have a degree in Computer Science (B. Math. (Honours Co-op Comp. Sci. 1977) from the University of Waterloo and a degree in theology (M. Div. (Honours) 1990) from St. Andrew's College, Saskatoon.
I have always been interested in the intersection of technology and theology - both at practical and philosophical levels, having experienced this as a creative tension in my life. I recently have come to a conclusion that involvement in the "open source" movement(?)/community(?)/wave(?) is in large part an answer to this creative tension.
I worked for nine years as a developer, technical support analyst and systems programmer in the 1970's and 1980's - leaving this career when computers could be taken home. Despite the change in vocations, computers have never been far from me, prompting one friend to describe me as a "cyborg - in the most positive way of understanding that description!"
Here is a link to my blog on this subject: opensourcespiritseeker.wordpress.com
Twitter handle: @pcchynoweth
