Bruce+Jones

__Bruce Jones__ I was a drop-out from the class of 1959. I transferred to Union Seminary in 1957, which was a mixed blessing. It was fun to be in New York City, and I was able to take classes from Reinhold Niebuhr, James Muilenburg and other big names, but I missed the smaller classes at PSR and the closer contact with faculty. I have kept in touch more with friends I made at PSR. After graduation, I was married, ordained, and went to India for two years to work for the Student Christian Movement on India. Upon return, I was pastor of a small UCC congregation in Illinois. I was not satisfied with life in a small town, and I returned to graduate school, first to PSR and then to the doctoral program in Old Testament at the Graduate Theological Union. Dr. Otwell was my major advisor during that period, until I graduated in 1972. I had part-time teaching appointments at PSR, Mills College and Merritt College. I was assistant professor at Holy Names College in Oakland, and taught in the Religious Studies program at California State College, Bakersfield from 1973 until my retirement in 2000. We had three children and now six grandchildren, scattered between San Rafael and Nashville. I divorced in 1979 and remarried in 1998. Along the way, I returned to school to earn a master’s degree in family therapy, and had a small, part-time private practice for a while. However, teaching remained as my first love, which I found to be very rewarding. In retirement, I have had time to be more involved in the church, with local preaching and jobs at the association and conference level. I have also done some volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity, the Funeral Consumers Alliance, League of Women Voters among others. Bruce Jones