STAFF
Pastor Debbie Weatherspoon
Lead Pastor
pastordebbie99(at)gmail.com
(510) 588-5055
I became aware of God’s call in my life through participating in campus ministry at The University of Florida in Gainesville. Being raised in The United Methodist Church exposed me to social holiness, so my faith compelled me to engage in justice activism in college. Following in the footsteps of Jesus of Nazareth means standing with the marginalized and seeking God’s will. My discipleship continues through serving in community, solidarity, and pastoral ministry. I also serve as a spiritual director, accompanying others as we listen to the Spirit’s activity in their lives. My husband, Dale, our sons, Wesley and Justus, and our dog Zayne are the members of my immediate family. My public engagement involves the effort to end gun violence, movements for racial justice, and pro-choice/women’s rights events. My clergy colleagues of all faith traditions mean a lot to me, and I value a multi-faith community. I am blessed to be in ministry with the Epworth congregation as we seek to work for God’s justice in this world.
Susan Jardin
Director, Children and Family, and Older Adult Ministries
Susan Elliott Jardin is Director of Children and Family Ministries and Older Adult Ministries at Epworth. She coordinates the Godly Play Faith Formation Program for children in grades Pre-K - 5, and works with Children's Council to nurture a welcoming and supportive community for parents and children at Epworth. In 2015 Susan added Older Adult Ministries to her duties at Epworth. Partnering with local non-profits to bring classes, learning opportunities, and wide range of activities to seniors to keep them active in community life, A+ (Older Adult) programs aim to help alleviate loneliness, isolation and depression through connection, learning and purposeful engagement in life through service to others. Susan has worked with children and educational programming for many years, as a ceramics art instructor, mentoring coordinator at a local public school, and as Chair of Epworth’s Children's Council. A graduate of Pitzer College, she holds a BA in Cultural Anthropology and lived abroad for several years. She is married and has two adult children.
Dylan Damonte
Director, Youth Ministries
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Juan Carlos Altamirano
Pastoral Intern
Scott Jespersen
Director, Music Ministries
Joy Cha
Communications Coordinator
Property Use Coordinator
David Kind
Church Business Administrator
David Kind is thrilled to serve as Epworth's Church Business Administrator. Currently a Master of Divinity student at Pacific School of Religion, David grew up on Bainbridge Island, Washington—just outside Seattle—and later spent ten years in Vancouver, Canada studying clinical psychology. Before answering the call to ministry, he explored a wide range of fields, including finance, marketing, communications, project management, and church administration.
Along the way, David championed financial literacy, partnered with women's shelters to build sustainable vegetable gardens, advocated for improved testing accommodations for students with disabilities, and refreshed church communications to increase reader engagement. Looking back on these experiences, David says the clearest conclusion is simple: Nothing energizes him more than connecting people to ideas, to meaning, and to one another.
David believes that curiosity and kindness are among the most transformative forces in the world. His personal motto is to "choose stubborn gladness despite the relentless furnace of this world”.
When he's not studying, working, or talking theology, David is a devout classical pianist and shares his life with Pickles, widely believed to be the world's most charismatic and beautiful dog.