Before the idea for a Christian Statisticians’ Informal Discussion Group (CSIDG) existed, Dr. Philip Rust was on the alert for meeting ASA convention attenders who were believers of Jesus Christ, but as you might guess, not very successfully. To boost the probability of success, he would ask identifiable Christians what other believing statisticians they might be acquainted with. This activity demonstrated that the network of saints was in extremely poor condition.
In November 1987, he and Dr. Y. Jack Lee were both participants in an N.I.M.H. site visit at the University of Pennsylvania. It so happened that both came to the hotel restaurant at about the same time, and it was agreed to share dinner at the same table. A sign as small as a prayer over the meal led to a recognition that both were Christians. This led to a discussion of the spiritual status of Christians generally, and in August 1988, a determination to collect a handful of Christians at the New Orleans Annual meeting to address the subject over lunch. The resulting effort led to a round table discussion between six statisticians. It was agreed that the idea was good and should be followed up in 1989. Particular encouragement was voiced by Dr. Dubey
At next years’ meeting in Washington, DC, Dr . Rust posted a couple of flyers in addition to using the word of mouth method, following assignment of a room at 6:00 Tuesday evening by ASA for this purpose. Twelve people appeared, most of who were new to CSIDG. The vision was presented and ideas from the floor were solicited. It was agreed that we should meet at 6:00 on Mondays, and that we should seek listing on the committee section of the ASA program.
We have continued in this way ever since….