Guest Preachers in September
As Pastor Maggi Henderson concludes her sabbatical this month, we welcome both familiar and new faces to our pulpit.
The Rev. Dr. Erwin Barron will preach and celebrate communion on September 2. Erwin, our recently named Parish Associate, has been part of our community for 16 years. Erwin teaches literature at City College and ethics at the Graduate Theological Union. At various times he has served Old First as Director of Christian Education and briefly as Interim Pastor. Erwin has moderated session meetings during Maggi’s absence.
The Rev. Dr. Susan Ashton will preach on September 9. A long-time friend of Old First, Susan was a Parish Associate in the ‘90s and served briefly (along with Erwin) as Interim Pastor. She was Covenant Network’s second employee, serving from 1999 to 2002. From 2008 to 2011 she was pastor at Ocean Avenue Presbyterian here in the City. During this sabbatical period, she has helped our deacons and elders provide pastoral care.
The Rev. Dr. Elizabeth “Dean” McDonald will preach and celebrate communion on September 16. You’ll want to meet her especially, as she’s leading our congregational retreat Sept. 28-30! Before moving here last summer with her husband, new SFTS President Jim McDonald, Dean was Director of the College of Preachers at Washington National Cathedral and a worship leader there. Earlier she served congregations in Indiana, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. She has taught at the Cathedral School for Girls, Wesley Theological Seminary, and most recently in the D.Min. program at SFTS. A pastoral counselor, she currently sees clients at the Interfaith Counseling Center at SFTS. Fun fact: Jim McDonald and Mary Russell were childhood friends!
The Rev. Victor Floyd, currently Associate Pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco, will preach on September 23. Before his ordination to the MCC and UCC, he served three Presbyterian churches as Director of Music. He received the 2009 Award in Queer Theology from the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies at the Pacific School of Religion. A frequent conference presenter, he is a proponent of the Iona Community, InterPlay and Interfaith dialogue. Fun fact: Pam Byers first met Victor when he sang at the 1999 Covenant Conference in Atlanta.
We conclude our Festival of Preaching when Elder Andrew Cheng, J.D., preaches on September 30. An Old First member since he moved to San Francisco in 1992 and an elder since 1997, Andy serves as a San Francisco Superior Court Judge. Earlier he worked in the City Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Andy and Yvonne Cheng were married at Old First in 1993 and have three children, Samuel, Joshua, and Annie. Following his mother’s example, Sam was ordained as a deacon in 2012.
Pastor Maggi Henderson returns to our pulpit on World Communion Sunday, October 7.
