Welcome to Holy Conversations and Writing Projects
Margaret and Jenny
An Introduction The Rev. Dr. John Wells Warren
I am an Episcopal priest serving in the Diocese of Alabama as the Chaplain of St Dunstan’s, The Episcopal Church at Auburn University. I am a 1974 (BA) and 1979 (MEd) graduate of Auburn University. I worked on a PhD at The University of Alabama from 1982-1986, completing my major coursework, residency, and comprehensive exams, but did not finish my dissertation, a regret I have to this day. I read for Holy Orders from 1994-1995, and was ordained deacon and priest in 1996. I earned the Doctor of Ministry degree from St. Luke’s School of Theology at Sewanee: The University of the South in 2004. All that aside, no doubt the best thing about me is my family. Leigh and I have been married 35 years. We have two grown children, Margaret (L) and Jenny (R); two wonderful sons-in-law, Matthew Warren and Matt Franks, and two grandsons, John Wells Warren II and James Wicker Warren (who are truly the joy of my life).
Leigh and I live on a small farm called "The Elms" on the edge of Auburn. The house was built in 1851, and sits on a hill overlooking the horse pastures and pine woods of Noble Plantation. We have two dogs--a Border Collie named Nick, and an Australian Shepherd named Rosie. Rosie was born deaf, and was adopted by my wife when she was about a year old. Leigh and Rosie are a trained pet therapy team, and they visit Bethany House (the Hospice program), assisted living facilities, the VA Hospital, and Wrights Mill Road Elementary School on a regular basis.
I have had several careers over the past four decades--banking, teaching, advertising, human resources, politics, and state government--but I wanted to be a priest since I was 24 years old. Now in the 17th year of my ordination, and our 14th year at St Dunstan's, my passion in life remains the Church, the priesthood, campus ministry, and writing. I hope you enjoy the projects I've been working on, and I invite you to give me your honest opinion in an e-mail at wells@saintsdunstans.net .
Peace be with you,
Wells+
Table of Contents
Bishop McDowell (1882-1938)
The following pages are writings associated with my work as a priest, as well as non-fiction and fiction.
God's Will
God's Will is a non-fiction work, a biography of The Rt. Rev. William George McDowell, Jr. Will McDowell served as the Fifth Bishop of Alabama from 1922-1938, and died of pneumonia on a visitation to the parish churches in Mobile. Originally, God's Will was my doctoral dissertation at Sewanee. The writing is based on McDowell's personal journals, correspondence, private letters, church records, and actual interviews with parishioners, friends, and family members. God's Will proposes that Bishop McDowell or “Will,” is an ordinary man, but he is truly God's man. The story of Will McDowell’s life is one of obedience and sacrifice—an act of the will by one person always to do what he has discerned to be God’s will. Published in 2005 by St Dunstan's Press, Auburn AL, and available in paperback, $18.00 postage paid. Order from St Dunstan's Press, 136 E. Magnolia Ave., Auburn AL 36830. All proceeds go to St Dunstan's, The Episcopal Church at Auburn University.
Holy Land
Holy Land is a work of fiction based on the true story of two unsolved murders, a judge and his brother and business partner, in the rural South of the late 1940s and early 1950s. Holy Land is set in a fictional county of Alabama in the post-war years of Dixiecrats and Populists, the Ku Klux Klan, government corruption, organized crime, and the Communist scare. Pierce County judge Jim Duffy disappears near the backwater of the Chattahoochee River, and the sheriff's department looks for a body. Murder, money, and mystery are only part of what Sheriff Lasseter and Chief Deputy Broadwater discover. Holy Land consists of 11 chapters at present, but my plan is to finish the story with 14 more chapters written on this site. I invite you to comment on each chapter as it is posted. Let me know your honest opinion of this novel experiment. Send your comments by e-mail to wells@saintdunstans.net
Holy Conversations
Holy Conversations is the name we use at St Dunstan's to describe our informal, extemporaneous, congregational conversations; however, they also include my manuscript sermons from recent years. Either way, the essential challenge is to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ into a modern setting, among scholars and students, to make the Gospel relevent to their lives and circumstances. Passionate and spirited interpretation of Holy Scripture among the members of the congregation is not unusual. Holy Conversations is a compilation of these sermons and congregatonal conversations in chronological order working backward in time. So if you're tired of the same old sermon-from-the-pulpit routine, join our Holy Conversation!
Letters to Friends
Letters to Friends are weekly electronic newsletters sent to more than 500 Students, Young Adults, Faculty Members, and Friends of St Dunstan's. Most often, they are reflections of mine based on current issues and events which affect the lives of the St Dunstan's community--a healthy and welcoming place of Anglican worship, Bible study, and Christian community.
The Episcopal Church at Auburn University is an official student organization as well as a worshipping community in the Diocese of Alabama. St Dunstan's has provided an active program of campus ministry in Auburn since 1919. Letters to Friends are presented in chronological order going back over my years at Auburn.
The Episcopal Church at Auburn University is an official student organization as well as a worshipping community in the Diocese of Alabama. St Dunstan's has provided an active program of campus ministry in Auburn since 1919. Letters to Friends are presented in chronological order going back over my years at Auburn.
Children's Books
The Story of Saint Nicholas is a children's book which tells the origin of Santa Claus. Nicholas, an orphan boy, is rescued from the streets, welcomed into the Great Cathedral, and adopted by kindly Bishop John. Nicholas grows up to become a priest, bishop, and the patron saint of children everywhere. Discover the joy and surprise of Christmas gift-giving, which began with the humble generosity of one man. Saint Nicholas is based in history and legend on Nicholas, Bishop of Myra.
A Gaggle of Geese is a children's book about animals and their families. I'm hoping my dear friend Tazewell, a renowned Southern artist, will illustrate the book. From an army of ants to a herd of zebras, parents and children will love reading this story from cover to cover many times over.
The Elms is a 50-acre farm on Shelton Mill Road