Andrew Rowley
Profile
Andrew was born, like his wife Angela, in the East End of London. He left school at the age of 16 with no qualifications to speak of, but returned to formal education at the age of 26 with the goal of becoming a minister of religion. The first step was a BA (Hons) degree in Theology from Avery Hill College. Andrew found Unitarianism as his spiritual home in 1981, influenced and nurtured by such figures as Sydney Knight and Lance Garrard. He studied at Manchester College Oxford from 1987 to 1989, and particularly valued his tutorials with Revd Dudley Richards, and the encouragement of Dr Waller. A graduate certificate in theology in 1989 was followed by a post-graduate certificate in education at Westminster College in 1990. During his first ministry at Moneyreagh and Ravara in Northern Ireland (during the troubled years of 1990–93), and his subsequent ministry at Downpatrick in 1993–4, Andrew obtained a diploma in ethics and philosophy from the University of Ulster, an MA there in 1993, and a certificate in counselling from Queen’s University, Belfast. While ministering to the Unitarian church in Padiham, Lancashire (1994–99), he was awarded a PhD by Potchefstroom University in South Africa.
Andrew then took a break from ministry to teach for two years at a comprehensive school in Oxford before moving to live in Bedfordshire, where he has taught philosophy full-time in an independent school for six years. He will combine this post with his part-time duties at MCO. (This fact, and the 50-mile journey to Oxford, means that he can offer only very limited pastoral services to our congregation.)
Asked to describe the non-academic elements of his religious life, Andrew says that he is profoundly interested in psychical research, the ministry of healing, interfaith work, meditation, and the concept of sacred psychology. Among the influences that have helped to shape his beliefs, he lists the ethics of Tolstoy and Gandhi, and the philosophies of Kierkegaard, Wittgenstein, and Emmanuel Levinas; in counselling work, Carl Rogers; and in Unitarian terms, James Martineau, the social activist A. Powell Davies, and former UUA President Dana Greeley. He says, ‘I feel that the challenge is to find the divine in the human, and to support every individual’s quest for self-actualisation /God-realisation.’ In practical terms, he has experience in hypnotherapy, neuro-linguistic programming, counselling and psychotherapy; and he has been a hospital chaplain and a Justice of the Peace.
As for hobbies, Andrew has been an avid Spurs fan for 40 years. He restored (and uses daily) a 25-year-old Triumph Spitfire, but also enjoys country walks with the family’s two newly acquired greyhounds. He enjoys red wine and real ale, and socialising with friends. He has been a vegetarian for 36 years. Most important of all for Andrew is to spend quality time with his family. Angela (a former London fashion model) is a yoga teacher, aromatherapist, and massage therapist. They have three children: Alexandra, 24, is training to be a teacher of Religious Education and English; Faith, 19, is reading Psychology at university in Hertfordshire; and Andy, 15, has just started his GCSE studies.
Somehow Andrew finds time for all these commitments in his busy life. I hope that we shall have opportunities to get to know him and his family (and the greyhounds) during the coming months, when he will serve as our interim, part-time Minister. Catherine Robinson November 2006