The leadership structure at Altadena Community Church has evolved through the years into a simple structure with leaders elected in a few Ministry areas, who recruit and coordinate volunteers for whatever activities are planned. Faith Ministries focuses on worship, music, and education for children and adults.  Hope Ministries include our mission work in the community and the world.  Love Ministries encourages fellowship amoung church members, friends, and visitors.  There are also leaders for Communications Ministries and Administrative Ministries.

Professional staff include the senior pastor, the director of music, the minister of education, and the minister of spiritual life. Additional staff include a bookkeeper, facilities manager, and childcare attendants..  

Senior Pastor

Joe McGowan

Pastor, hospice chaplain, spiritual director, community leader, and volunteer, Pastor Joe McGowan wears more hats than a Yankee Doodle dandy, but with the grace and humility of a Southern gentleman.

Born in Columbia, Tennessee, Joe traces his deep spiritual roots through his parents and his grandmother. He is grateful for the examples of faithfulness they instilled in him. In addition, his desire to engage in assisting others and fighting for justice came from a retired couple who quietly set about distributing food, clothing, and caring to disadvantaged persons in a rural area of Tennessee. Led by their example, Joe was soon volunteering and taking leadership positions in his church and community. College and seminary were clearly in his future, and off he went. He obtained a B.A. from Presbyterian College, a M.Div. from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, an M.A.C.L. from Regis University, and a certificate as a Spiritual Director. Most recently, Joe has received a Doctor of Ministry degree from Wesley Seminary in Washington, D.C., with a focus on narrative theology.

After associate pastor positions in two Presbyterian churches, Joe's life changed; he moved to the United Church of Christ and joined Altadena Community Church as pastor in 1999. In addition to his positions as our pastor and as a hospice chaplain for Kaiser Permanente, Joe is active in the larger church. He has been on the United Church of Christ Southern California/Nevada Conference Board of Directors and serves on their Board of Trustees for the Regional Office Building and as a resource contact for congregations exploring the Open & Affirming process. He has also been a delegate to the United Church of Christ national Synod. Joe is a member of the Altadena Sheriff's Clergy Council, serves on the Planning Committee for Pacific Clinic's spirituality and mental health conferences, and helped found and leads the ACTS Food Pantry.

Joe cherishes his time off and partakes of many activities in the Pasadena/Los Angeles cultural scene. He escapes to Mammoth for a weeklong skiing experience every winter and enjoys traveling in this country and abroad. Yet his greatest thrills come in the private "Aha moments" when another individual grows or changes in their experience of God. Come to his office and see his treasure of crosses and icons-souvenirs of some of these spiritual journeys and his traveling adventures.

Pastor Joe McGowan does so much good in so many ways; he deserves the spotlight of fame, yet chooses a quiet life of dedication and service. Thank you, Joe, for choosing to serve with us.

Director of Music

Wendy Caldwell

Music is a major reason why many choose to worship at Altadena Community Church. This is not surprising, given the talents of Music Director Wendy Caldwell. Her singing is so heartfelt and spiritual you feel you can rise with her in song to heaven, her accompaniments are a musical tapestry, her leadership is educational and inspiring. Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, she knew at the age of five that she wanted to be a concert pianist and has said, "I just knew; I thought everyone knew." Within two months of her first lessons, she was studying with a teacher at the university. Blessed with perfect pitch, singing came just as naturally and soon she was singing in choirs at school and church. Her precocity continued with an appointment at age thirteen to be a paid church organist.

Wendy received her Bachelor of Music degree in Piano Performance at Acadia University, with a prize as top music graduate, and her Artist's Diploma at the University of Toronto. Since moving to Southern California in 1981, she has become a successful coach and accompanist, working with students at L.A. area universities and performing in concert with other professional musicians. She is a vocal coach for the Los Angeles Children's Chorus and a staff accompanist at Pasadena City College. We are indeed blessed that Wendy Caldwell, accomplished pianist, singer, organist, accompanist, coach, and choir director, has chosen us as her church home.

(P.S. Just don't challenge her to a badminton game.)

Minister of Education

Kelli Parrish Lucas

The Rev. Kelli Parrish Lucas was raised in San Diego and Florida.  She grew up to be a poet and earned a B.A. in Poetic Mediums: Poetry, Performance and Book Arts from Mills College, where she was also on the swim team. 

Kelli earned a Masters of Divinity from Claremont School of Theology where in addition to required course work her studies included feminist theology and liturgy, the ecumenical history of social thought, liberation theology, and disability ministry. Kelli was both born with disabilities and lives with acquired disabilities, which inform her teaching ministry.

Kelli completed what is believed to be original research into the history of ecumenical responses to disability. Kelli teaches students and professional chaplains about providing spiritual care to persons with disabilities. In addition to her duties at Altadena Community Church, Kelli serves as a hospice chaplain and is involved in several ministries of the United Church of Christ (UCC).   Kelli has served on the UCC Justice and Witness Ministries Board and has been a delegate to UCC Synod, and a UCC Delegate to the General Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in Busan, South Korea. Kelli currently serves as the Secretary of the UCC Disabilities Ministries Board of Directors and on the North American Ecumenical Disability Advocacy Network, a program of the WCC.

Prior to seminary, Kelli served as the Christian Education Director at the Community Congregational Church of Pacific Beach UCC, two years in AmeriCorps, and coordinated social service programs for local non-profit/public partnerships. Kelli has published three books of poetry, was a co-founder of a woman's spoken word troupe, and was a professional clown.

Minister of Spiritual Life

Wendy Tajima

The Rev. Wendy S. Tajima was born and raised in Pasadena, earned her bachelor's degree at Stanford University, and received an MBA from UCLA in 1986. She has worked in social services and the computer industry, including nine years in middle management at Apple Computer, and served in various volunteer capacities, including as a crisis line counselor for victims of domestic violence, a trainer in cultural diversity, and a grant writer and program developer for a nonprofit computer consulting center.

Raised as the niece, granddaughter, and cousin of pastors, she finally accepted her call to ministry and was ordained in 1997 by the Presbyterian Church, which supported her work with the Hawaii Conference of the United Church of Christ for 10 years. Wendy follows her family's understanding of living out our faith through seeking the justice and peace of God in this world rather than simply waiting for heaven. She considers it a blessing to have grown up in racially diverse Pasadena and initially focused her efforts on advocating for women and acting as a volunteer trainer in empowering children and confronting racism. As a pastor, she has led retreats in spirituality and served as worship leader in a variety of settings.

Returning to Pasadena in 2007, Wendy first worked as Associate Dean of San Francisco Theological Seminary, then was Stated Clerk for the Presbytery of the Pacific, and is now interim Executive Presbyter for the San Grabriel Presbytery. Coming back home, she is grateful for having found her neighborhood church, Altadena Community Church, and does what she can to support ACC in all that we do.