Cohen brings a new perspective to the Canterbury pulpit

Rev. Dale Cohen has spent the past 12 years working with churches across the United States. Now he is looking forward to bringing what he has seen and learned during that time to Canterbury United Methodist Church, where he began serving as senior minister on June 10.

“Having a broader perspective, I think, will help us continue to develop new ministries that are reaching and touching the lives of more and more people,” Cohen said. “But my first task is to listen and to learn about what’s going on [at Canterbury] and then see where I can add value based on my experience with the Methodist Church and with the exposure I have had to all denominations.”

For the past five years, Cohen has served as district superintendent in the Northeast District of the UMC in the Huntsville area, and before that he was the director of connectional ministries for the North Alabama Conference. His roots are in church planting and pastoring, though. He was the church-planting founder and pastor of Discovery United Methodist Church in Hoover during the 1990s and served as an associate minister at Trinity United Methodist in Homewood prior to that.

“I look forward to sharing in the lives of people,” Cohen said. “I interact with people in the position I have had, but it’s not been the week-to-week or even daily interaction where the relationships are deeper and we share more of life together.” 

Cohen said he is also excited to be a part of Canterbury’s missional ministry with partnerships in West End and Avondale as he works with the church to respond to the needs it has recognized and will continue to work to fulfill. He also is particularly interested to use what he has learned about what he sees as the challenge for every church today — engaging young adults.

“Most churches do a good job with children’s ministry and youth ministry and adult ministry, but most churches are struggling to engage that young adult age group,” he said. “We should appeal to young adults’ sense of caring for this world and their desire to be a part of something far bigger than themselves. Young adults aren’t just interested in going to church — they are interested in being the church in the world. Just showing up on Sunday morning isn’t going to engage them, but helping them engage the world in a way that demonstrates the call of Christ upon their lives is what they need help doing. I think Christianity has the capacity to change the world, and most of the time we are too focused on what’s going on in the church to see the opportunity to engage the world.”

Cohen replaced Dr. Bill Morgan, who served as senior minister at the church for 12 years. Morgan joined the North Alabama Conference as the district superintendent of the South Central District, which counts Canterbury among its 52 churches. He will continue to reside in Birmingham. 

“I am grateful for the blessings of serving as Canterbury’s pastor,” Morgan said. “Now, I am joyful for the blessing of serving in the missional work of superintendents.” 

Cohen said that he looks forward to working with the staff and lay leadership of Canterbury. 

“My primary responsibility as a pastor is to help everyone around me to grow in their relationship with God and in their ability to contribute to the kingdom of God,” he said. “I like to inspire and challenge people to do great things — and specifically to do the great things that God is calling them to do.”

Cohen received his undergraduate degree from Birmingham-Southern College, majoring in psychology/sociology, and received his Master of Divinity from Emory University-Candler School of Theology. He and his wife, Ann, are the parents of three grown children. 

For more information on the church, visit canterburyumc.org.