Rev. Kenneth Powell; pastor who stayed put, and inspired

How best to measure the resonance of a church sermon? Coffee hour after the Sunday service could be too convenient a forum, with some congregants offering compliments simply because their minister is nearby and doing so is neighborly. Discussions that take place the following day, as the fresh week's duties loom, are another matter.

"I was on the 7:09 commuter train from Natick Station one Monday morning," said Sabin Willett, a lawyer who attends Pilgrim Church in Sherborn. "This is a train full of gray suits heading into the Financial District. A guy ahead of me leans across the aisle and says, 'Say, did you hear Ken's sermon in church yesterday?' How many other ministers are there whose sermons are discussed on the train the next day? I'm sure I'll never see it again."

Weaving humor with biblical passages and a host of literary and cultural references, the Rev. Dr. Kenneth D. Powell crafted sermons that asked more questions than they answered. A leader of the flock, he was just as eager to be led on the spiritual journey he shared with those who listened to him preach.

Rev. Powell, who delivered powerful sermons on his own travels in the world of illness, died Monday in his Dedham home of complications of pancreatic cancer. He was 62 and had previously lived in Sherborn for a quarter century as pastor of Pilgrim Church.

"His physical presence was very commanding and humble at the same time," said Jill Syverson-Stork, who shares the moderator post at Pilgrim Church with her husband, Francisco Stork. "He really does incorporate a lot of these ironies in a way. He was so tall and so slim, and he always would bend to you so he could be near you and hear you. I think of him sort of bent in humility, almost, but at the same time he was just so strong and would command such respect."

Carol Powell, whom Rev. Powell married nearly 34 years ago, said her husband's "humility was one where he didn't see himself as being that way, he just saw himself as an average person."

"He was so present to everyone - I think that was one of his greatest gifts," she said. "No matter what was going on with him, he was always present, and I think that's why he had such a major impact on people, because they sensed that."

He grew up in Greenbelt, Md., a suburb of Washington, D.C., and graduated from the University of Maryland with a bachelor's degree in history. He received a master's in divinity from Yale Divinity School and a doctorate from Eastern College in the suburbs of Philadelphia.

Ordained in 1971 by the Central Atlantic Conference of the United Church of Christ, Rev. Powell served initially as associate minister at Central Congregational Church in Providence and at a church in Frederick, Md., before learning that Pilgrim Church was seeking a pastor.

Many ministers and priests move to a new church every few years. The Powells, who arrived at Pilgrim Church in 1979, decided to stay. Carol Powell, who had been a psychiatric nurse, said the choice allowed Rev. Powell to establish a more significant bond with the church members.

"It takes a long time, really, to develop trust and relationships, to really have an impact on people and community," she said. "If you're able to do that and can remain fresh, you can go to much deeper levels in people's lives."

At Pilgrim Church, the congregation grew from 300 to nearly 500 during his tenure. During spring school vacations, he led youth church members in community work projects. And he formed a partnership with Bethel AME Church in Jamaica Plain to offer assistance from Pilgrim Church when violence flared in Boston.

"I think if I had to describe him in one word, I would say servant," Syverson-Stork said. "Ken was a servant not only to all of us in the church, but also a servant leader of our community, Sherborn, and our extended communities. . . . I don't think Ken was ever asked to do something that he said no to, because he had such a deeply embedded sense to do God's work."

In the pulpit, Rev. Powell was never unsmiling as he offered weekly lessons in his sermons.

"He had a brilliant facility with humor," Willett said. "When he had a point to make that was serious, what he would first do was open you up with a little humor that would sort of drop your defenses down."

Such was the case once during the service at which church officials seek pledges from congregants.

"He started his sermon, 'You can always tell when it's stewardship Sunday because all the men sit there with their arms folded across their chest,' " Willett said. "We all looked down and realized this was true, and there was this hilarious awkwardness of everyone suddenly trying to unfold their arms."

Six years ago, Rev. Powell underwent surgery to remove a tumor from his pancreas. In 2003, the cancer reappeared and suddenly he had to adjust his life clock.

"My living to 80 very well might not happen, maybe not 70, maybe not even 65," he said in a sermon delivered on Sept. 14. "But who knows? I may still be around to officiate at your daughter's wedding or even do your eulogy!"

A collection of his sermons, assembled three years ago in the book "A Touching Place: Palpable Good News," presents selections from his last several years at Pilgrim Church before illness prompted him to become pastor emeritus a couple of years ago. The last section includes four sermons that address his illness, as he drew from Scripture, theologians, philosophers, writers, poets, hymns, and encounters with parishioners to illuminate the final journey.

"Something else happens when you become seriously sick," he said in the Sept. 14 sermon in which he mused about the nature of his relationship to the passage of time before and after his terminal diagnosis. "You have time to notice things. . . . Time, then, becomes a wonderful opportunity to slow down and to let your time be filled with open eyes, open mind, open heart."

In addition to his wife, Rev. Powell leaves two sons, Bryan of Norwood and Damien of Boston; a sister, Mary Clare Powell of Greenfield; and a brother, Scott, of St. Charles, Ill.

A memorial service will be held at 10:30 a.m. today in Pilgrim Church in Sherborn. Burial is private.