Rev. Dr. Lanie Bower Price, 74

April 23, 1951 - August 09, 2025

For 74 years, Rev. Dr. Lanie Bower Price lived with joy, purpose, hospitality, deep intuition, and boundless grace. On August 9, 2025, she left this world surrounded by the family and friends she so deeply cherished.

Born Marion Elaine Bower on April 23, 1951, to Marion Violet Mackenzie and William Bower, she graduated from Quincy High School in 1969. She went on to earn her B.S. from the Philadelphia College of Bible in 1973, her M.A. in Religion (with emphasis in Pastoral Care and Counseling) from Asbury Theological Seminary in 1975, and both her Master of Divinity (1977) and Doctor of Ministry (1978) from Drew University. Early in her career, she was chosen as one of only 18 young ministers from the Northeast to participate in a groundbreaking videotaped series on revitalizing the local church. She also co-founded the tree of life school of spiritual direction for clergy and Laity with Rev. Sandra Murphy.

Lanie is survived by her husband, Fred Price; son Jonathon Price and his wife Sarah; daughter Joy Basagic (Price) and her husband Grant; and three grandchildren: Lana, Welsey, and Belle.

Lanie began her ministry in 1976 in Glendale, where in just one year she grew the congregation from four parishioners to a packed sanctuary. From 1977 to 1981, she served in Willingboro, as associate pastor, developing child, youth, and young adult ministries. From 1981 to 1985 in Mt. Ephraim, she led the community to face an unrealized drug problem with courage and compassion. From 1985 to 1988, she served at Zion United Methodist Church in Clarksboro, N.J., as co-pastor with her husband, Rev. Fred Price, before accepting a call to missionary service in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In many places she served, she was met with initial skepticism — sometimes because she was a woman, sometimes because she challenged the status quo — but answered with a steady presence and gracious spirit that won over even her strongest critics, turning them into her most devoted partners in ministry— a pattern that would repeat throughout her life.

In the DRC, Lanie taught at Mulungwishi Theological Seminary and later at the Likasi School of Theology. She also served in countless other ways: offering hospitality to visitors, transporting the sick to the nearest hospital, counseling couples, starting a preschool, and leading programs for women. Even when evacuated from Congo, she continued her ministry by training pastors in Meru, Kenya. She had remarkable gifts of cooking and sewing and was an accomplished seamstress who sewed her own wedding gown. She loved coffee — not just as a drink, but as a daily ritual to be savored and shared in hospitality with others.

Returning to the United States in 2001, Lanie became pastor of Pitman United Methodist Church. In December 2003, a devastating fire destroyed the church building. That night, she reminded her congregation: “The church is not burning down — a building is burning down. The church is here, standing with me. The church is not a building, but the people.” In the years that followed, she shepherded the congregation through a season of “wandering,” holding services in borrowed spaces — other churches, a middle school, a theater, and a storefront — until the completion of their new home at 758 N. Broadway.

In 2008, when Fred accepted a position in New York City, Lanie pastored her final church, St. John’s in Hazlet, New Jersey, before retiring in 2013.

Throughout her ministry, she was a steadfast companion to those in need — walking alongside people for the long haul, offering not judgment but grace. She dreamed vividly, and those dreams were not just for herself — she delighted in helping others interpret the meaning of their own, listening intently for the ways God might be speaking to and through them. Her gift for weaving the language of dreams into the language of faith gave comfort to the weary, courage to the hesitant, and fresh vision to those who could no longer see the road ahead. She was a beacon to the lost, a safe place for the hurting, and a warm embrace for anyone who felt they did not belong.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Lanie’s memory can be made to the General Board of Global Ministries in support of missionaries (c/o Advance GCFA, PO Box 9068; New York, NY 10087-9068: Advance Special Number 00779Z)
and/or Alzheimer’s Disease Research, 22512 Gateway Center Drive; PO Box 1950; Clarksburg, MD 20871-1950.
Alzheimer’s Disease Research

Today, we give thanks for her “transfer of membership” from the Greater New Jersey Annual Conference to the Church Eternal. Her light — and the dreams she carried for the world — continue to shine through the countless lives she touched.

A celebration of life will be held on September 6th, 2025, at Wesley United Methodist Church, 40 West Main Street, Strasburg, PA 17579 at 11 am, preceded by visitation at 10:00 am.