Thomas Kowalski, who goes by Jay, was born in Summit New Jersey but moved to Florida when he was five years old. He grew up mostly in Fort Myers but also lived in a number of cities in Florida.

Jay served four years in the US Navy and when he finished his enlistment he went to college at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach. Following his graduation he went to work for the State of Florida as a juvenile probation counselor. He then went to Duke Divinity School where he received his Masters of Divinity.

He has served churches in Tallahassee, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Naples, Venice and Palm Harbor. Jay has served as an associate pastor twice, a campus minister, an urban minister and a lead pastor.  He retired in 2018 after 39 years of service and along with his family relocated to Mount Dora. In March of 2020 the DS called Jay and invited him to serve as the interim pastor at Zellwood UMC. In July of 2020 the DS asked Jay to come to FUMC Eustis where he is serving as the part time pastor.

Jay has been married to Eileen since 1992 and they have two grown children, Sari who lives in Tarpon Springs and Robert who lives in Gainesville.  Their grandson, Levi who is 11 years old lives with them.

They enjoy the beach, boating anything to do with the water and even working in the yard.  After two years of retirement Jay was excited to be returning to lead a church. To learn a more about Jay, view his introduction video.

Executive Committee

Carolyn Twaddle (Council Chair),
Cynthia Griffin (Lay Leader & Assistant Council Chair),
Bob Carter (Facilities),
Bert King (Finance),
Jill McKinley (Human Resources),
Janet Thomas (Nurture and Outreach)