Pastor Allan & Jo-Anne Collister
As students in Berkeley, Allan and Jo-Anne had to cope with tear-gas on the way to class. Even then, the spiritual openness of Berkeley people was a happy surprise. After years away – including 2 in Germany in the Army (think: castle-hunting and 3-day trips to Paris), grad school in Berkeley, seminary at Trinity (Deerfield), and pastorates in Washington, Minnesota and a church-plant in San Diego – they got to come back and “plant” New Church. Their six kids have had a big on-going role in planting the church as well.
Pastor Allan and Jo-Anne see their work as a partnership — not just in their complementary roles, but in the fact that they are constantly talking over and praying over the church together. They find it especially fulfilling that they get to do it together.
Allan and Jo-Anne spend free time sailing on San Francisco Bay. They are collaborating on a book about training young men and women for Christian ministry by a combination of mentorship in the church, and limited coursework in seminary.
Associate Pastor- College – Steve Childs
Steve was born and grew up in Fair Oaks, CA, just east of Sacramento. Attended Cal and graduated with a BA in May of 2000. He received his M.Div from the American Baptist Seminary of the West in May of 2006. Married the best girl in the world, Audrey, in January of 2008. They are expecting their first child, a son, around Thanksgiving of this year.
He couldn’t stay away from Cal for long after graduating in May of 2000: after spending two years overseas doing college ministry he returned to Berkeley and has since been the college director at New Church. He is an avid sports fan (go bears!), growing up playing soccer and baseball competitively, and most every other sport recreationally. He has also been known to do some swing dancing now and then.
Administrator – Tamela Turner
Tamela joined our team as Administrator three years ago. Born in South Africa, where she lived until she was 17, Tamela emigrated with her family to Western Australia in 1999. She began tertiary study at Murdoch University in Perth in 2004, where she also became involved as a student leader. While studying for her bachelor of education in primary school teaching, Tamela met Neil, and they married at New Church in 2006.
Church Planters – Andrew & Alex Park
Andrew was born in Korea and immigrated to the States as a young boy with his family. He grew up in Oakland and attended Skyline High, local JUCO’s and UC Davis. During his college years, he started the Pastoral Apprenticeship Program at New Church and completed his M.Div equivalent in 1999. Andrew and Alexandra met at New Church while she was completing her engineering degree at Cal. They were married in 2002 and have been blessed with two daughters, Isabel and Gabrielle.
Children’s Ministries – Nancy Svensson
Nancy was born and raised in California’s Gold Country where she learned how to clean fish, make the perfect s’more, and take care of all kinds of critters. Some of her favorite childhood memories include family camping trips, horseback-riding in the American River Canyon, and going out for ice cream with her grandparents.
She attended Cal, graduating in 2005 with BAs in Classical Civilizations and Spanish. As a student, Nancy volunteered at Oakland Tech and Berkeley High Schools, worked in orphanages in the Dominican Republic and Guatemala, and earned the nickname “Mom” for her home-made cookies and lasagna. During her freshman year, she met Elliot, a unicycle-riding, tuba-playing Mechanical Engineering major. They married in 2006 on April Fool’s Day, so as to more conveniently continue their practice of playing practical jokes on each other.
College – Astrid Sky
Astrid was born in Oslo, Norway and lived there until moving to the Silicon Valley with her family at age 9. She loves working out and being active, the outdoors, cooking, learning, and connecting with people. At Cal, she was actively involved as a student leader and spent a few summers overseas doing short-term outreach. Last spring, she received her BA in Economics and joined staff as a College Life Intern.