Methodist history would certainly have happened without the Rev. Kenneth E. Rowe. But colleagues say he did as much as anyone to make sure the story was told well — and in full.
Rowe turned from parish ministry to scholarship early in his career and became the leading United Methodist bibliographer, as well as an essential player in the placing of the United Methodist Archives and History Center at Drew University.
He also taught church history for many years, and wrote or cowrote key books on Methodism, including “The Methodist Experience in America.”
In his various roles, Rowe worked to have an account that went beyond the actions of bishops and other top leaders.
“He completely reshaped how we understand the narrative of Methodism in America, expanding it to include indigenous persons, women and LGBTQ+ persons,” said the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History in a remembrance.
Rowe died on Oct. 8, at age 84, in New Bern, North Carolina, where he lived in retirement with his husband, James Sawyer.
As word of Rowe’s death has spread, many have been paying tribute.
“He had a brilliant way of rethinking and reshaping our Methodist histories that allow our pasts to truly speak to and even shape United Methodism today,” said Ashley Boggan Dreff, top executive of Archives and History.
Dreff’s predecessor, the Rev. Alfred T. Day III, noted how other scholars depended on Rowe.
“If Methodist history is a treasure trove of documents and the stories those documents represent about denominational identity, Ken, more than anyone else in the contemporary UMC, knew where to lay hands on every jewel,” Day said.