David Glyn Bowen (1933–2000) was a Welsh Congregationalist minister and missionary. He grew up in the

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

area and attended Swansea Grammar School (1945–1952). He subsequently studied at University College,

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, graduating in 1955 with an honours degree in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

. He later studied at

Memorial College, Brecon Brecon Congregational Memorial College was a Congregational college in Brecon, Powys, Mid Wales. The college graduated ministers and missionaries who were posted to Africa and India. There were classes in biblical literature, chemistry, classic ...

(where he began to learn Welsh), and

University of Princeton Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

where in 1959 he was awarded the degree of MTh. for a thesis on the Church of

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...

. On his return to the UK in 1960, he took up the appointment of minister of Castle Street Congregational Church, Tredegar,

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

. In 1963 he married, and under the patronage of the

London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed in outlook, with Congregational miss ...

he and his wife travelled to

Western Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); a ...

where David was appointed Principal of Malua Theological College, he remained in the position for the next five years. He returned to the UK 1968 on appointment to a teaching post in Stepney, East

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Subsequently, he was appointed lecturer in Religious Studies at Bradford Training College and he remained there until 1999, when he retired form the position. His published writings include ‘The Sathya Sai Baba Hindu Community in Bradford’ (the subject of his PhD (Leeds) thesis), and ‘Who's Jesus Anyway?’, a poem by him which was published in 'Coracle', the official publication of the Iona Community (

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

). He died of cancer in May 2000. His funeral was held at Little Lane Church, Bradford.

References

1933 births 2000 deaths Welsh Congregationalist ministers Missionary educators Welsh Congregationalist missionaries Congregationalist missionaries in Samoa British expatriates in Samoa 20th-century Congregationalist ministers {{UK-reli-bio-stub