Our Ministers & Staff

Our Senior Minister
The Rev. Dr. Arlene K. Nehring is Eden's lead worship planner and preacher, pastor and teacher, staff supervisor, and community organizer.

Arlene was ordained to the Christian ministry by the Central Association of the Iowa Conference in 1988. Prior to accepting the call to Eden in 2002, Arlene served as Associate Minister at The Old South Church in Boston, 1988-1992; Senior Minister at The Park Church in Elmira, New York, 1992-1996, and Associate Director for the Council for Health and Human Service Ministries in Cleveland, Ohio, 1996-2002.

Arlene was awarded the B.A., magna cum laude, from Lakeland College, Sheboygan, Wisconsin, in 1985; the M.Div. from Andover Newton Theological School, Newton Centre, Massachusetts, in 1988; and the D.Min. in Preaching from Chicago Theological Seminary in1995. She holds professional certifications in organizational design and has completed graduate course work in nonprofit management.

She and her spouse, Stephanie Spencer, live in Castro Valley with their spoiled rotten cats, Tim and Chelsea. Stephanie is a cultural anthropologist and public health worker, and is a lay leader at Eden Church.

Pastoral Associate

Pedro Ramos Goycolea began his service as Eden’s Minister In Training, for the 2010–2011 academic year, on August 24. In June 2011, he was promoted to Pastoral Associate and engaged to helping Eden Church impliment our Compañeras/os Ministry Plan in Cherryland.

Pedro and his spouse, Alejandra, were born in Sonora, Mexico. Both grew up and were educated there. Alejandra is from Obregon and Pedro is from Hermosillo. Alejandra has a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Pedro’s undergraduate degree is in accounting. Before coming to the U.S., Pedro and Alejandra worked in business and government offices in Senora. Pedro and Alejandra were married in Obregon in 2007. The couple welcomed their first child in Advent 2010.

In 2006 Pedro was invited to start a Hispanic church in Sahuarita, Arizona (located 30 miles south of Tucson). This new church start was a partnership endeavor between the Disciples of Christ and the UCC. There Pedro learned about planting a new church, and was immersed in immigration issues on the U.S.–Mexico border.

Pedro began work as an interim minister in August of 2008 at the Good Shepherd UCC, in Sahuarita, which nested the new Hispanic church.  

After three years of service with the new Hispanic church and Good Shepherd in Sahuarita, Pedro and Alejandra moved to Berkeley in the fall of 2009, where he began the M. Div. program at Pacific School of Religion. Pedro’s anticipated date of graduation from seminary is May 2012.

Our Education and Spiritual Life Coordinator

Liz Jobst, our Education and Spiritual Life Coordinator, joined the Eden staff in March 2008 after serving as the Interim Director of Children’s Ministries at Calvary Presbyterian Church in San Francisco.  A former Kindergarten teacher, Liz has taught in the field of Early Childhood education for many years including a time as an instructor at Habitot Children’s Museum in Berkeley. 

Involved with the Episcopal Church since childhood, Liz started singing in the choir at an early age and later participated in a variety of church-wide programs.  Throughout her life she has worked for social justice, whether organizing volunteer tutors or helping to facilitate anti-racism trainings; she believes in the transformative powers of communities.

Born in Washington, D.C., Liz has lived a nomadic lifestyle, including a brief period of residence in Mexico where she was enrolled in an Augsburg College extension program entitled “Gender and the Environment: Latin American Perspectives.”  Liz received a B.A. in Creative Writing and Religious Studies from Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota, in 2001; and a M.Ed. from the University of St. Thomas, Houston, Texas, in 2003.

Her normal hours are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday mornings on campus, Thursdays off campus, and other times as scheduled for church events, conferences, or worship services.

Liz lives in Oakland with her spouse, John. They share their space with two cats, King James and Waimea, a dog, Maggie, and fish. In her free time she enjoys gardening, scrapbooking, traveling, photography, and writing.  

Our Music Director

Dr. Lee Steward joined the staff at Eden in August 2009 after holding several college teaching and church positions. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education degree, with a concentration in piano and choral conducting, as well as advanced degrees in vocal performance. He has conducted church, college, and community groups in a wide variety of musical genres ranging from Palestrina to Busby. His singing experiences have led him to some of America’s finest opera houses including the San Francisco Opera, where he sings first tenor in the Extra Chorus. His concert work includes the premiere of Gerald Busby’s Emotion, with text by Tony-award-winning author of The Light in the Piazza, Craig Lucas.

Lee is proud to have helped begin Eden’s Performing Arts Series, Art for Goodness Sake, which supports local artists and charities. He also is happy to work with the multi-dimensional Eden Choir each week on a variety of musical offerings including the Poulenc Gloria, Handel Messiah, Mozart Vespers, and many others yet to come.  Dr. Steward lives in Oakland with his wife, Jessica House Steward, and two daughters, Elizabeth and Leonora.

Our Organist

Loris Coburn has been an organist at Eden United Church of Christ since 1971, and provides organ and piano music for Sunday worship, weddings and memorial services, organ and choir concerts, and a wide array of Bay Area artistic and community service events. She has also been an integral part of the development of Eden's Performing Arts Concert Series. In addition to teaching piano and organ privately, she has also taught music at California State University, East Bay, and Chabot Community College. She and her late husband, Bill, presented many vocal recitals in the United States, Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands. Loris received her B.A. in piano from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an M.A. in organ performance from California State University, East Bay.

Lee Steward, Music Director

Loris Coburn, Organist