Meet the Minister
Hi.
I'm Al Bryan the pastor here. I arrived on June 30, 2009 from McIntosh UMC, where I served for six years. Prior to working in McIntosh, I was a chaplain for hospice in the St. Petersburg area, visiting patients in their homes in a area just north of the city of St. Pete. Hospice taught me about how every day is a gift to be treasured. During those six years I mad a slow transition from being Catholic to becoming a Methodist. The hospitality and friendliness as well as the theological beliefs of Methodism were what attracted me. (This is a long story.)
Prior to hospice, I had a year long residency in chaplaincy at Tampa General Hospital and Moffitt Cancer Center. Before that I was a Catholic priest/chaplain at a hospital in Buffalo, NY. In 1993 I first met Dorothy, who was doing clinicals for her Batchelor’s in Nursing degree. Her focus was integrating spiritual care into nursing, and that was our common meeting place. We gradually grew in our friendship as I was preparing to part company with the Catholic Church. I had disagreements with the Catholic church on issues of divorce and remarriage, the infallibility of the Pope, ordination of women, etc. We were married on June 10, 1995 and are confident that God brought us together.
I began my ordained ministry in 1976. In the first nine years I served as an assistant pastor in large suburban parishes in the Buffalo area. Next I served as a pastor in an inner-city church in Buffalo, following a priest who was murdered in his rectory by a drug addict he was trying to help.
I have had varied volunteer experiences and numerous classes over the years ranging from Red Cross training to Behavior Analysis. I completed my Master of Divinity degree in 1976 at Christ the King Seminary in Buffalo and my Methodist Course of Study in 2006 at Candler School of Theology in Atlanta As you can see, I’ve been around the block a few times and I have seen a lot. I hope to put all of these experiences to good use in Lake Alfred.
A word about my wife Dorothy. Her personal relationship with Jesus Christ comes first. She is a powerful prayer warrior. She is passionate about writing a book to tell the story of how her father’s faith guided him through his three years as a prisoner of war of the Japanese in WWII. She is looking in to working on a master’s degree. We are both actively involved in helping to be a Christian influence on our two year old grand-daughter in Gainesville. Dorothy has been working part time writing programs for education and training for persons who provide services to the developmentally disabled. As you can see she is quite busy.
I look forward to a fruitful ministry in Lake Alfred. I see myself as a fellow Pilgrim along the way on our mutual journey toward a closer relationship with Christ.
