Mark Allen Rowden, 59, was born and raised in St. Louis, MO. He earned a B.A. in Psychology from Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, GA, and his M. Div. from Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis. He was ordained in November 1988 as a minister in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). Rowden’s ministry included church planting and serving congregations in Missouri, Florida, Georgia, and most recently as pastor of Immanuel PCA in Mesa, AZ.

On a recent visit to Rowden in the ICU at Scottsdale Osborn Hospital, a couple of his fellow ministers heard him give the account of the accident. One of the ministers wrote:

“Mark shared that on his morning bike ride last Thursday, January 26, he was coming up on a truck with a trailer and tried to pass it and sped up. Sadly, the trailer hit him and he had to have surgery on C-1 and C-2. He has an incision in his neck where they did the surgery. Phil was great at helping Mark to talk about their joint passion for cycling! (I run and don’t cycle) I was able to take a video of him telling a funny story.

“We prayed together and also listened to his nurse encourage us to reach back to all of you to please keep praying but also come and visit especially as the time will fly and everyone will be busy with life and forget about our brother. He will especially need visits when he starts rehab. The doctors aren’t able to say much about a time table. The nurse gave the impression he could be moved to a level just lower than the main ICU soon.”

Mark Rowden is survived by his wife Janet, who were married for 31 years; and their children Jane and Peter.