new church life: march / april 2014
“I decided I wanted to learn a lot more about religion around the world, but
I was also interested in learning New Church theology in more depth as well.”
Looking for a way to pursue both, he transferred to Bryn Athyn College for
an undergraduate degree in Religion, then figured he would go back to Temple
for a Master’s and possibly a PhD in Religion.
“But the more I pursued religion at Bryn Athyn College, the more I wanted
to teach both New Church Theology and Comparative Religion to both New
Church and non-New Church people, because I felt the cross-pollination of New
Church and world religious thought would be beneficial to our modern world.”
The Rev. Prescott Rogers was a positive influence in both areas, as he had
similar interests and background in world religions.
“I wanted to teach the big picture of religion in an academic setting, but I
didn’t want just to teach religion as a bunch of fascinating ideas. I tried to figure
out how to do both – teaching religion and pastoring – and have been working
to do both ever since.”
But the process took a while. While attending Bryn Athyn College Barry
kept up his love of sports, coaching basketball for seventh- and eighth-graders
at the Bryn Athyn Church School, and JV baseball in the Academy Boys School.
After graduating from the College, he moved to Glenview, Illinois, to marry his
high school sweetheart, Anita Fiske.
Like so many ministers who developed special talents while in school, he
worked in home improvement and remodeling during summers when in school,
then full time for a year-and-a-half before returning to Temple to pursue a
Master’s in Comparative Religion. Then it was back to the Bryn Athyn College
Theological School for three years to earn his Master of Divinity degree and
begin his career as a New Church minister.
His first assignment after his ordination in 1994 was assistant to the pastor
in Toronto, Canada. He worked part time in the Olivet Church there, traveled
to various small groups across Canada (from Montreal to Vancouver Island, and
various places in between), and ran the semi-independent Canadian outreach
organization, Information Swedenborg, Inc.
After a few years he became the assistant pastor. He enjoyed working in
the school and with teen groups in the society and at Maple Leaf Academy, a
popular New Church summer camp for teens. He says, “I loved working with
kids and teens, and my experiences there helped me greatly in my later move to
the Academy of the New Church Religion Department.”
As Director of Information Swedenborg, Inc., h