new church life:
j u ly / au g u s t 2 0 1 5
book of Revelation. I argued with him, trying to show how there is a spiritual
meaning to the text he was using. Well, instead of being bothered that I was
interrupting our date this way, on the drive back Susan said to me, ‘You know,
if you ever wanted to be a minister I’d be supportive.’ And with that the idea
was replanted.”
Alan says his mother also was always been a big influence with her general
love for the Church, and “has done a great job of instilling a similar love in her
children.”
He graduated from Bryn Athyn College Theological School in 2013, and
moved to London a couple of months later with Susan – by then his wife – to
take over as Pastor for the Michael Church Society.
He also provides services and support to groups in Sussex and Surrey in
the United Kingdom, and in the Netherlands. And he is the co-headmaster of
the British Academy Summer School with the Rev. Howard Thompson.
Highlights so far “have been the times when I am invited to be a part
of a family’s life, especially for special services like memorial services and
baptisms. It is always fulfilling to be there for a group of people when they
need it the most, or when they are celebrating a joyous occasion. Being
involved in people’s spiritual journeys is an honor, a blessing, and at times very
challenging, but always fulfilling.”
Among his personal interests, he loves playing music – guitar, bass, and
especially singing. He also enjoys golfing – “my Monday ritual to start my
weekend” – and carpentry, especially building furniture.
His favorite passage from the Writings:
“Because the Lord is salvation and eternal life, it follows that He is also
everything that enables us to gain salvation and eternal life. Therefore he is
every part of reforming, regenerating, renewing, bringing to life, sanctifying,
justifying, purifying from evils, and finally saving. The Lord is carrying out
these processes in all of us, meaning that He is trying to hav e these effects
on us; and when we adapt and modify ourselves to receive them, He actually
carries them out in us. (Even the acts of adapting and modifying ourselves
are actually from the Lord.) If we do not accept the Lord’s processes with a
willing spirit, He cannot carry them out in us, but His desire to do so remains
constant.” (True Christianity 150. Rose translation.)
To contact the Rev. Alan Cowley: [email protected]
390