PROVO — The brown friar's robe hanging in the Rev. Kevin Crowell's closet symbolizes one step in the life-changing religious journey he has traveled during the past decade.
The former funeral home director and current president of the Utah Valley Ministerial Association, the Rev. Crowell looks more like a rock star than a minister. Dressed in a grey sweatshirt and jeans, his red, curly hair falling past the small hoops in his ears and landing just below his shoulders, Crowell talks passionately about his calling to the ministry.
"I've known for a long time that I was called to some sort of ministry," he said. "You just know that you're called to do something, and you just have to be willing to take whatever path that leads you down."
For the Rev. Crowell, that path has been long and winding.
Raised a "Jack Mormon," as he terms it, he later joined the Roman Catholic Church. After his ordination as a deacon in 1997, he served in American Fork's St. Peters Parish and St. Francis Church in Provo. During this time, he said he felt inspired to progress in the clergy.
"I felt I was called to the priesthood," the Rev. Crowell said, "but I'm married."
As a married man — he and his wife, Robin, celebrated their 31st anniversary this year — the Rev. Crowell was not eligible to receive the priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church, so he left in search of something else.
On Father's Day weekend in 2001, he was ordained to the priesthood in the American Catholic Church, a denomination that adheres to the basic tenets of Catholicism but allows married individuals to receive the priesthood.
"I don't believe we should marginalize people because of their marital status, gender or (sexual) orientation," he said.
Four years later, in 2005, the Rev. Crowell entered the Order of Servant Franciscans, a small, nationwide group of Catholic friars who focus on providing social services.
"It was a part of my spiritual life that was definitely missing," he said of the order, which requires members to take strict vows, including promises to live simple, chaste lives.
But his journey didn't end there. Just last year, he was consecrated as the order's bishop.
"That means I'm pretty much in charge of the whole order — pretty scary when you think about it," he said.
Members of the order must continually participate in some sort of education program — the Rev. Crowell just received his doctorate of divinity — and often take on political issues by joining protests and writing letters to politicians.
The focus on simplicity and social service within the order appears to extend to all aspects of the Rev. Crowell's personal life. He and his wife live in a modest mobile home in west Provo, and he does not accept a salary for any of his ministerial work, which includes serving on the advisory board for Utah Valley State College's Interfaith Student Association and as the young adult minister at the Provo Community United Church of Christ.
The church, located at 175 N. University Ave., currently has an unusual combination of ministers. Neither the Rev. Crowell nor the church's primary pastor, the Rev. John Lersch, are ordained in the United Church of Christ ministry. The Rev. Lersch, a Presbyterian minister, said they work well together, despite their different backgrounds.
"Theologically, we're in the same place," he said. "It's been a real gift for this church to have him."
The Provo Community church, which played a prominent role in founding the Food and Care Coalition of Utah County, has a more liberal stance than most Christians on many issues, said the Rev. Lersch, as evident by the hiring of a gay pastor about 10 years ago. That pastor has since moved on.
"One of the (United Church of Christ's) hallmarks is that they're very, very inclusive," the Rev. Lersch said. "And I think the fact that Kevin is working with us, even though he comes out of Catholic tradition, is a statement about the inclusiveness of (the church)."
As the church's young adult pastor, the Rev. Crowell has not had a regular group to work with because of low attendance, but his unconventional attitude is appealing to young people, said UVSC Chaplain Linda Walton, who has worked with him through the UVSC Interfaith Student Association.
"He can relate with college students very well," said Walton, also a member of the Utah Valley Ministerial Association. "He's unusual enough that he kind of appeals to someone (that age)."
The UVSC Interfaith group invited the Rev. Crowell to give a lecture to students last year about his religious journey. His story is a good example for students, said Walton, because it illustrates the importance of searching for truth.
"I think everybody's on that walk and even if you stay in the same faith, you may decide to become more conservative or more orthodox," she said. "I think there's a growth process in religion and to see Kevin do that with gusto is really refreshing."
And, according to the Rev. Crowell, the end of the path has yet to be reached.
"You're never done searching until you die," he said. "It's always going to be a journey of faith."
E-mail: rwestenskow@desnews.com