Wheaton church honoring retiring pastor
The Rev. Michael Rowe and his wife, Maggie, will be recognized at a retirement celebration from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday, June 24, at First Baptist Church, 1301 N. Main St., Wheaton.
Rowe also will speak at the 10:30 a.m. worship service that Sunday.
"We invite community friends and colleagues to join the First Baptist congregation as we honor the Rowes with a program of memories, tributes and music, followed by a reception," said Carol Novak, representing the church family.
The senior pastor at First Baptist Wheaton for 16 years, Rowe has been in pastoral ministry for more than 40 years. He was in youth ministry until 1989, when he became senior pastor of the Osterville Baptist Church in Massachusetts before coming to Wheaton in 2002.
The Rowes met at Wheaton College, where he earned a bachelor's degree in English and she earned a bachelor's in communications in 1975.
He completed a year of graduate study at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and received a master of divinity degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in 1979.
For several years he headed the committee for the annual Wheaton Leadership Prayer Breakfast. In 2014, Maggie received a master of biblical studies degree from Wheaton Graduate School.
They are moving to the southeast, where they will enjoy views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, combined with speaking, writing and other opportunities for ministry.
Rowe announced his retirement plans last year. The First Baptist Wheaton congregation recently merged with Highpoint Church, Naperville, a multi-campus congregation led by the Rev. Ron Zappia.
On July 1, the Rev. Eric Stone will become the campus pastor for the Highpoint Wheaton congregation.