author
Alfred Rowland
1840–1925
A widely read English Congregational minister, he wrote warmly practical books and sermons that aimed to bring Scripture and everyday faith closer together. His work reflects the late Victorian and Edwardian pulpit at its most clear, earnest, and accessible.
1 Audiobook
Men of the Bible; Some Lesser-Known Characters
by George Milligan, Walter F. (Walter Frederic) Adeney, J. Morgan (James Morgan) Gibbon, J. G. (John Gershom) Greenhough, H. Elvet (Howell Elvet) Lewis, Alfred Rowland, David Rowlands, W. J. (William John) Townsend
About the author
Born in 1840, Alfred Rowland was an English Congregational minister and religious writer whose published work included sermons, biblical studies, and devotional books. Records of his books show a long writing career, with titles such as Paul's Ideal Church and People, The Burdens of Life, The Exchanged Crowns, and An Independent Parson, his autobiography published in 1923.
Local historical sources on Park Chapel, Crouch End, describe him as pastor there from 1875 to 1911 and note that he also served in prominent leadership roles in Congregational life, including as chairman of the London Congregational Union and later of the Congregational Union of England and Wales. Those same sources place an earlier pastorate at Zion Congregational Church in Frome.
He appears to have been valued both as a preacher and as a popular religious author, writing in a direct style meant for ordinary readers rather than specialists. He died in 1925, and the outline of his career suggests a minister deeply involved in both church leadership and practical Christian teaching.