Cooley a ‘spiritual rock’

From Colorado- (Andrew and I worked together at Convention on Dispatch- God's Blessings Andrew)

He has been credited with reaching out to other faiths, welcoming gays and lesbians and playing a pivotal role on the national stage of his denomination. And after 16 years, the Rev. Andrew Cooley, rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, will preach his last sermon in Durango on May 1.

“This is totally my initiative to do this,” he said. “There’s no rule for how long to stay, but I’ve seen too many clergy who have been in one place too long, and I didn’t want that to be me.”

When he came to St. Mark’s, Cooley wanted to stay until he was 50 and his daughter had graduated from high school. He’s now 54, and she is graduating from college right after he leaves Durango.

In his next life stage, Cooley will serve as an interim rector at churches in the process of finding a replacement priest.

“I’ll probably do this for the next 10 or 15 years until I retire,” he said. “I’m eager to take the skills I’ve learned here of dealing with people in the midst of anxiety and stress and being an agent of healing and hope.”

An interim pastor will be assigned to St. Mark’s, and the vestry committee will begin a search for a new rector, which will probably take a year to 18 months.

‘Always makes you think’

More here-

http://durangoherald.com/article/20110226/NEWS01/702269985/-1/s/Cooley-a-‘spiritual-rock’