About

First United Methodist Church of Pasadena is located east of Old Pasadena in the Playhouse District and serves people from throughout the city, neighboring communities and the surrounding San Gabriel Valley. Founded in 1875, the congregation today includes families of all ages with a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences.

On October 23, 2011 members of First UMC voted overwhelmingly to become a Reconciling Congregation – a congregation committed to the full inclusion of LGBTQ persons in the life of the church. In the fall of 2015, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling, the congregation voted to allow same-gender weddings to be held in the church’s facilities and to support its appointed clergy in officiating at these services.

Click here to learn more about our history.

We seek to become disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

Leadership Team

Rev. Sandra K. Olewine

Pastor

Born in Maryland and raised in California, Rev. Sandra Olewine (Sandy) is a graduate of the University of California, Davis (BS) and the Claremont School of Theology (M.Div / ABD).

solewine@fumcpasadena.org

Rev. Jennifer Chapman

Director of Intentional Faith Development

Born in California and raised in Texas, Rev. Jennifer Chapman is happy to be back in the golden state!

jchapman@fumcpasadena.org

Rev. Gregory Norton

Minister of Music and Communications

A native of Redlands, (Calif.), Greg has spent more than thirty years serving churches in Colorado and Southern California, most recently at Westwood UMC in Los Angeles.

greg@fumcpasadena.org

Rev. Deb Shepherd-Webster

Minister of Hospitality

Born in Ohio, Deb has spent more than 35 years working as an engineer, astronaut trainer, astronomer and project manager in companies and universities across the USA, Chile & South Africa. She has a BS in Physics, MS in Astrophysics, a PhD in Astronomy, and an M.Div from Fuller Seminary.

dswebster@fumcpasadena.org