That the Rev. Sean Rowe is the youngest Episcopal priest in the country shouldn't come as a surprise to those who have known him since he was a boy.

"I felt called to public service, law or ministry my whole life," said the former Hermitage man, 27, who for the last two years has been the priest at St. John's Episcopal Church in Franklin.

At the age of 13 he realized "God was calling me to ministry" through an opportunity to preach a sermon at his church, Hickory United Methodist in Hermitage, on a youth Sunday.

Active in youth group at the church, Rev. Rowe was invited at a young age to be a leader in the church. He was a member of the administrative council and staff parish relations committee, to which he brought a unique perspective to the meetings traditionally reserved for adults.

"We've all heard that it takes a community to raise a child," he said. "It was the teachers at school, teachers at Sunday school, and neighbors … a whole community that formed me and made me the way I am. I came from a place that has values and morals for which I am eternally grateful.

"I believe that a call to ministry comes two ways - through personal intuition as well as family and others in the community supporting and encouraging you in your gift."

One such encouraging person for him, he said, was a former pastor at Hickory United Methodist, the late Rev. Hank Zimmerman. Rev. Rowe also said his parents, Richard and Patricia Rowe of Hermitage, were not surprised by his career choice and were very supportive.

In addition to church leadership positions during his teen years, he also held leadership roles at Hickory High School, where he was senior class president, on the student council and a chamber choir member.

His interest in public service was obvious to many by his regular attendance at Hermitage school board meetings during his high school years.

After graduating from high school in 1993, Rev. Rowe attended Grove City College, where he studied history. While he graduated in 1997 with a degree in history, his call to ministry was reconfirmed in college.

He worked as the secretary for the history department chair, who was also an Episcopal minister. "We are all serving God. I felt more comfortable worshipping as an Episcopal," he said.

"The Episcopal Church has roots in early Catholic and Eastern Orthodox religions as well as the Reformation, so you are getting a blend of Protestant and Catholic. Generally, the Episcopal Church is Catholic worship and Protestant theology," he explained.

According to Rev. Rowe, the process to become an Episcopal clergy member is two-fold - the candidate realizes a call from God, then begins a threeyear discernment before seminary. Meetings are held with an advisory board of the diocese, lay members and clergy.

Since he began the discernment in college, Rev. Rowe was ready after graduation to attend seminary. He chose Virginia Theological Seminary, Alexandria, out of the 11 Episcopal seminaries. Only one other student in his class was younger than 30.

Rev. Rowe explained that the history of the church shows that young men were called into priesthood. "However, the pendulum swung in the other direction during the '70s, '80s and '90s, when high value was placed on life experience or second- career clergy," he noted.

"Young men were turned away and told to serve as lay people and be in the business world and gain some life experience, then come back and be a priest. These clergy would only serve a few years and then retire. Realizing their error, the pendulum is swinging back toward the recruiting of the younger generation."

After graduation from seminary in 2000, Rev. Rowe began searching for a parish to serve. Episcopal churches call their own priests, and he was hired at St. John's in July 2000.

"This is an older and established church, not the typical place for a new priest to start," he said of his Franklin congregation.

"There were some young families but the number is growing and the size of the church has almost doubled."

In order for young people to become leaders, they need to be invited to participate in leadership roles, he believes.

His advice to other students considering the ministerial field is "to take this call from God seriously and follow through despite the many obstacles." Age, however, has not been an issue for Rev. Rowe. "I feel good about being the youngest Episcopal priest in the country. It's a big step in the right direction for our diocese and bishop.

"The older members haven't been affected by my age; they sometimes parent me as a way of showing their respect. In fact, I feel my age is an advantage because I have been formed by the church and not corporate America."