Norman Pott

Norman Dunning Pott was born and raised in Summit, NJ, later moving to Illinois to attend Wheaton College. Upon graduation in 1954, the 6-foot-7 All-American basketball player was offered a contract with the team that would later become the Philadelphia 76ers. Rather, he chose to attend Princeton Theological Seminary over the NBA and received a master's degree in divinity in 1957. He married his wife, Enid and together had four children: Carol, Emily, Stephen, and Aaron. He later studies at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland earning his Ph.D. in philosophy in 1960. Later that year, he returned to the States and became minister with the First Presbyterian Church in Berkeley, CA where he became involved in the civil rights movement. Rev. Pott moved to Eugene, OR in 1964 to become pastor at Central Presbyterian Church where his protest against the Vietnam War resulted in the church being bombed. In 1975, he returned to California to head the Davis Community Church where he promoted the rights of migrant farm workers. Rev. Pott moved to San Rafael in 1986 as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church where he supported the inclusion of gays and lesbians in the leadership of the Presbyterian Church USA. Pott retired in 1997, but accepted the position of interim pastor at the First Presbyterian Church in St. Helena. He continued his involvement in organizations promoting social justice and was an adjunct faculty member at San Francisco Theological Seminary. He was co-editor and contributing author of the anthology "Called Out With: Stories of Solidarity." Norman Pott died on September 1, 2002 at age 70.