Who We Are
Our motto says it all: “Love is Spoken Here.” We believe in a God of love, who sent Jesus to the earth to demonstrate what love-in-action looks like. We are followers of Jesus, seeking to live our lives the way Jesus would live our lives. In a sense, we are all trying to live up to our motto: “Love is Spoken Here.”
We may not speak it fluently yet, but we are curious and committed learners. We welcome all others who wish join us in this desire to learn to live and to love more like Jesus.
Leadership
Steve Jacobsen
Interim Pastor
Born and raised in San Bernardino, Steve came to UCSB in 1970 where he earned a B.A. in Modern European history.
After college, he backpacked throughout Europe, worked for two title insurance companies, and sold real estate in Sacramento. He entered law school in 1976, expecting to make law his career. However, through his relationship with Ann (his soon-to-be-wife), he began attending Point Loma Community Presbyterian Church in San Diego.
Steve says, “The preaching, fellowship and a small group experience helped me to see that the source of a ‘mystical’ experience I had in college was a God whose stories fill the Bible, whose grace and love became visible in Jesus, and who gives us the Holy Spirit to renew, heal and inspire us.” He took a leave of absence from law school, married Ann, and became involved in the life of that church.
They moved cross country in 1978 so Steve could attend Princeton Seminary. In 1981 he was called as an Assistant Pastor to a church in Santa Paula, CA. In 1985 they moved to Wapato, Washington where they first served as “Volunteers in Mission” at the Campbell Farm before he became pastor of the church in that rural town of 3,000. By this time, they had three young daughters.
In 1992, he was called as Pastor of the Goleta Presbyterian Church, where he stayed for 16 years, simultaneously serving on several nonprofit boards along with a number of interfaith projects. In 2008, he became Executive Director of Hospice of Santa Barbara remaining there until 2013 when he was asked to be the Director at La Casa de Maria Retreat Center in Montecito. He retired in the summer of 2018 but was soon called back to the ministry when he began work in 2019 as the Interim Pastor at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Santa Barbara, navigated COVID with them, and completed that work in late 2020.
Steve and Ann enjoy spending time with their three grandsons (15, 6, and 4) and a new granddaughter who just turned six months! And he still has time to pursue his favorite pastimes, noting “I’ve been a Dodger fan for sixty years and an opera and classical music lover almost that long. I treasure being close to the ocean, traveling, playing golf as a spiritual discipline, and chasing whiffle balls hit by my grandsons.”
Peter Bie
Commissioned Lay Pastor and Church Administrator
Peter’s many talents equip him to manage revolving responsibilities from the office during the week to the sanctuary on Sunday morning. He first served Summerland Church in 2010.
Billy Alt
Facilities Manager
Billy sees things that need to be done and does them. He has inside knowledge on every light switch at the building, but lives by God’s word which lights his path.
Kathleen Sieck
Director of Music
Kathleen hopes music brings us closer to the Holy Spirit and that worship music changes us, guides us, and invites us into deeper spirituality. Kathleen and Jeff stay busy with their three daughters, yet both live into spiritual practices which root them into God’s love.
www.kathleensieck.com
Leadership Team (Session)
Our group of leaders participate in the spiritual guidance, accountability, transparency, and decision making for our church. Our team is formally called the Session, and it includes:
Mark Davis, Jim Dall, Sue Frampton, Joyce McCullough, John Poucher, Marica Reed and Sharol Siemens.
Summerland Church was organized on July 14, 1901, as Bethany Presbyterian Church by 12 members, representing several denominations, but of one mind in our common faith. The church building was originally located on Banner Avenue, dedicated on October 27, 1901. The building was moved to its present site on the corner of Lillie Avenue and Valencia Road in 1910 because Banner Avenue was unpaved, and rainy weather turned the adobe into mud which the members had trouble walking through. At that time, Lillie Avenue was the only paved street in town and also served as the main highway.
The Christmas Eve programs were the highlight of the year, host to a candle lit tree from which hung bags of candy and popcorn. On July 15, 1951 the church was rededicated...the new addition contained a school building, a fellowship hall, and the remodeled sanctuary.
In 1959, John Malcolm, a former parishioner, presented the Church with a beautiful, carved oak communion table, pulpit, baptismal font, and walnut offertory plates. It took Mr. Malcom approximately 8 years to complete these items and we are proud to continue to use them in our weekly service!
The church bell, which rings each Sunday morning, came by ship around Cape Horn on the southern tip of South America.
Today, the church is open to many community groups and throughout the year, the fellowship hall is used by different organizations for meetings and by local Summerland School students.
