Oral history interview with Ann Kansfield, 2017

Biographical Note

Ann Kansfield was born in Holland, Michigan and grew up in Rochester, New York, and New Brunswick, New Jersey. She attended Columbia University, majoring in Women's Studies and History. She initially worked in finance, but following the attacks of September 11, 2001, decided to enter the ministry. She obtained a Master of Divinity degree from New Brunswick Theological Seminary, and became a minister in the Reformed Church. She became known for revitalizing churches, first in the Flatlands and then in Greenpoint in Brooklyn. In 2015, she also became a chaplain of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY). Kansfield is married to fellow minister Jennifer Aull. Kansfield's father, also a minister, performed the ceremony and was tried by the Reformed Church for doing so. Kansfield and Aull have two children

Scope and Contents

In this wide-ranging interview, Ann Kansfield discusses many facets of her life, her career, and her identity. These include: her decision to come to Columbia; the impact of the attacks of September 11, 2001 on her decision to enter the ministry of the Reformed Church; her ADHD diagnosis; and her childhood in Holland, Michigan and Rochester, New York. She recounts coming out to friends and her parents, and analyzes her parents' reaction. She discusses gender theory, the influence of Judith Butler, and how being a parent has further informed her understanding of gender. She describes at length her experiences as a pastor in Greenpoint, including extended descriptions of characteristics of her congregation, the Brooklyn Classis of the Reformed Church, the views of the Classis on gay clergy, and the neighborhood of Greenpoint. She also gives a detailed analysis of her experiences as New York City Fire Department chaplain. The interview closes with description of the role of chaplains at Columbia University and a description of LGBTQ culture in the 1990s-2000s, on Columbia's campus and in broader New York City

Subjects

• Beckenstein, Jamie, interviewer.--http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/ivr
• Clergy--Interviews.
• Columbia University--Alumni and alumnae--Interviews.
• Fire chaplains--Interviews.
• Greenpoint (New York, N.Y.)
• Interviews.
• Kansfield, Ann--Interviews.
• Lesbian clergy.
• New York (N.Y.). Fire Department.
• Oral histories (literary works)
• Reformed Church in America.

Access Conditions

Copyright by the Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York, 2017