Reverend spends Father's Day with his son, church family

For Bob Towner, Sunday was Father's Day on two fronts.

Towner celebrated with his son, Ted, like so many other dads. He also gathered with the congregation at Christ Episcopal Church in Cape Girardeau, just as he does every Sunday. He wasn't there simply to listen; he was there to offer guidance to the parishioners. Because the Rev. Bob Towner is a father figure to them as well.

Towner said the title isn't an official or required one, but rather a show of affection from the faithful. For Father Bob, Sunday meant juggling that title in two different ways.

After an early service in Cape Girardeau, Towner picked up his wife and son for the drive to Sikeston, Mo. where he also oversees the congregation at St. Paul's Episcopal Church. He would later baptize a young girl with words he also offers as advice to new fathers:

"She, from this day forward, is God's beloved child."

In the Episcopal Church, priests are allowed to marry. Towner celebrates his 35th wedding anniversary to Helen this summer. Towner's own father died three years ago, a man he describes as humble and not all that interested in Father's Day.

"Since his death, I appreciate him and in many ways feel closer to him than ever before," he said. "I know that his faith and my faith are one reason that's possible."

Towner recalls being so impressed with his dad, a traveling businessman, because he would get up before anyone else to read scripture.

"That just knocked me out," he said. "I knew that my father had a father in heaven. And I knew that was the first and most important thing in his life."

Towner also took some time to call two of his brothers, also fathers. The three are trying to carry on the lessons they learned from their own father.

"Now we have to do what he did," Towner said. "He was a cheerleader for his sons. So we try to do that, too."

After lunch, Towner and his family drove back to Cape Girardeau, where he teaches Bible study for an hour. At the end, Towner returns home and to his other fatherly duties, ending the night with a simple family dinner and some simple family stories with Ted.

Ted, now 20, is a junior at Beloit College in Wisconsin, studying to be a philosophy professor. Towner said he prayed and read with his son every night.

"I also have tried ... to be very affectionate," he said. "For the first 15 or 16 years of his life, I told him I loved him every day."

bschraum@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 210

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