The Very Rev. Alan William Jones, died peacefully on January 14, 2024, in his room at a retirement community in San Francisco. His wife, Cricket, spent the morning with him and stepped out of the room to visit with a friend. When she came back to his bedside, she discovered that his spirit had just departed.

The Very Rev. Dr. Malcolm Clemens Young, current Dean of Grace Cathedral, reported that early in the afternoon, they anointed Alan with oil and prayed for him. In an announcement to the Grace Cathedral community, he added: "Alan Jones was deeply steeped in Benedictine spirituality. We will never forget his generous vision for reimagining the church and for a Christianity whose primary message is that God loves everyone without exception."

* * *

Alan Jones was the Dean of Grace Cathedral (Episcopal) in San Francisco from 1985 to 2009. Previously, he served as the Stephen F. Bayne Professor of Ascetical Theology at the General Theological Seminary in New York City from 1972 - 1982. During his tenure, he founded and was the first director of the Center for Christian Spirituality at General. Now a U.S. citizen, he was born in England and received his Ph.D. from the University of Nottingham.

Jones was an inspiring preacher and speaker who drew liberally from poetic and literary sources in his imaginative presentations. He was a prominent lecturer in interfaith, ecumenical, and academic circles both nationally and internationally. He was a prolific writer as well of books, articles, and editorial opinions. He often led public forums on a variety of spiritual and community issues in San Francisco and elsewhere. He was instrumental in bringing the labyrinth to the Cathedral and helping to popularize labyrinth walking as a spiritual practice.

Read For:

  • Enthusiastic exploration and advocacy of imagination
  • A questing style of Christian faith that is characterized by openness
  • A heightened and reverent appreciation of God's mystery and grace
  • A call for churches to be vessels of love and transformation