Vestry Candidates 2023

Jason Malone

I have been on this faith journey with my spouse, Carlos Martinez, for  over 19 years. We attended an episcopalian church in the Los Angeles  area for over eight years. Then we transitioned to a congregational  church, where I was a board of trustees member for six of the eight years  and served as an usher. During the pandemic, when services were only being offered virtually, we started tuning into St. John's, where I was spiritually fed during a very unusual time. 

We first visited St. John's in 2010 and were in awe of the church's beauty. We were excited to begin attending in person when the doors re-opened during the pandemic.  When we returned in the summer of 2021, I knew I had found my church home and that God was  calling me to renew my faith in worship and join the Episcopal Church; I have never felt more accepted  and loved. I grew up in a Methodist Church where I was baptized, and on April 6, 2022, I was confirmed  as an Episcopalian at St. John's. 

Over the last twenty years, I have served assisted living communities as an Executive Director and am  currently a Regional Director of Operations for Sunrise Senior Living. I have always had a love for  seniors and have been blessed to be able to serve the community in this way. 

When I was approached about possibly serving on the Vestry, I asked for a period of prayer and  discernment. After much careful thought and prayer, it would be an honor to serve the church in any  capacity to which I am called. If elected, my focus will be serving as a responsible steward with other  Vestry members. I will seek to do the very best I can to serve our church family with God's help.

Roma Murphy 

Roma has been a member of the St. John's Community for four years.  Though she was baptized Episcopalian, her exposure to religion while growing up was a sporadic mixture of Methodist grandparents and non denominational church services at a local movie theater. During a period of personal tragedy in college, a friend inspired her to seek refuge in faith. After texting her mom asking where she'd been baptized and doing a quick Google search of "Episcopal Churches near me," Roma  paid a visit to St. John's... and never left (even when she moved to Florida)! She was finally confirmed on Easter 2022. Roma loves St. John's for its glorious music, thoughtful liturgy and sermons, beautiful building, and of  course, its welcoming community. She can be found doing evening prayer on some Tuesdays at 6:30pm,  and doing Flower Guild duties whenever she can! As a young person for whom Christianity has become  a guiding light and centering force, she's passionate about youth ministry. And as a writer for children's  television, she has a lot of ideas for how to bring more young people into the community! 

She is so excited to be nominated to the vestry and have the chance to help the Church community in  another arena.

Suzanne Papp 

My husband, Kevin Johnson, and I moved to Pasadena from San Diego in  

2019. In San Diego, I was a member of St. Paul's Cathedral for many  years. I began attending St. John's during the pandemic. Right from the  start, I was enchanted with the beauty of St. John's cathedral and with the  music, even attending remotely. St. John's is a welcoming church with  fine adult education, and service to our surrounding community. 

My career has been in Information Technology. Currently, I am a  Database Administrator for the University of California, San Diego. My  particular strengths in service are as a technically and detail-oriented person. I also enjoy art and outdoor  activities such as running, hiking, boogie boarding, and snorkeling.

Russell Graham 

To start, I was born in San Francisco and raised there and in the Bay  

Area. I moved to Los Angeles in 1971 and have been a resident of  Pasadena since 2000. I attended San Francisco State, have a BS in  Management from Pepperdine University and a Paralegal Certification  from UCLA. I worked in banking at Security Pacific Bank/Bank of  America from 1971 through 1993 primarily in budget management and property management. My subsequent employment was with the  General Counsel’s Office at the Los Angeles Employees Retirement Association where I was a legal  analyst dealing with contracts and property administration.  

I have been in and around the Episcopal Church for many years, where I was confirmed in 1955. I was  also a member of the Society St. Francis, a religious community of the Episcopal Church in New York in  1996 and 1997. I came to St. John’s in 2014. I was previously a member of All Saints Pasadena. At St.  John’s I have been active with the Liturgical Guild, been a volunteer in the Church Office, and was a  member of the Intercessory Prayer Group on Sunday mornings, and served one term on the Vestry. I  was also involved with the Stewardship Program. 

We have entered a period of many changes and possibilities; sustaining our family during the Covid  pandemic, the search for a new Dean and Rector, the development project and earthquake retrofit of the  church, and discernment of who we will be and become in a world very different from just three years  ago. The one option we do not have, is to go back. It’s going to be a bit of a bumpy ride from time to  time, but as long as we have faith in the future and patience with one another, we’ll get to where we need  to be. And to be truthful, I find this journey both exciting and more than a bit scary.  

I have great faith in our community. We are all called to roll up our shirt sleeves, and do whatever each of  us can to sustain our community today and make our way into our future. I would be proud to be part of  your Vestry over the next three years. Blessings.