Jay Rowland was ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA) by the Presbytery of Philadelphia in 1998, his first call was pastor at Norriton Presbyterian Church on the outskirts of Philadelphia. In 2001 he was called to First Presbyterian Church, Rochester Minnesota where he served as associate pastor for 22 years. He earned his BA in Journalism from the University of Minnesota in 1986 and worked in local news at WCCO-TV and television production at Cable Value Network both in Minneapolis where he was born and raised. Jay moved to Los Angeles where he landed at Paramount Pictures then Universal Pictures working in network and syndicated TV programming. During that time he experienced a call to ministry and left Los Angeles for New Jersey and Princeton Theological Seminary where he earned his Master of Divinity in 1998. That was also the year Jay and Kari were married. They have four adult children--three daughters in Minneapolis and a son, the youngest, who lives in Rochester, MN. Jay writes, "Everything Jesus says and does in the Gospels (and in our lives today) is a beacon for navigating the darkness and uncertainty of life in this world. From the beginning Jesus invited anyone to join Him. No exceptions. That's both the wonder and the work of the church as we follow him today. Church is where we practice living as a Jesus Christ community, distinct from the many other communities everywhere around us, whether benevolent or not."
