Dr. John Judson, Pastor
John Judson is a native Californian who was reared just down the road in Houston, Texas. He grew up at St. Paul Presbyterian Church where his parents were elders and the family was in church every time the doors were opened. John first came to San Antonio in 1973 to attend Trinity University. Following his graduation in 1977 with a B.A. in business and economics he joined the United States Peace Corps. The Peace Corps took him to Manila, Philippines where he spent two years working with the Ministry of Agriculture as a Management Information Systems Consultant.
Returning to Houston in 1979, John worked in the petrochemical industry until hearing the call to ministry in 1981. That year saw John marry the former Cynthia Jeanne Obzut and their departure for Richmond, Virginia where John enrolled at Union Theological Seminary. After graduating with a Doctor of Ministry degree in 1985, John was called to Covenant Presbyterian Church in San Antonio as the church's first Associate Pastor. Two and a half years later, John and Cindy were called to the First Presbyterian Church in Pampa, Texas.
By the grace of God, the Judson's were called once again to Covenant, returning in 1992. John and Cindy have two children - Andy, who is a graduate of Rice University and is currently employed in Houston, and Katie, who is a freshman at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. Cindy is the principal of Southside Heritage Elementary School and a doctoral candidate at the University of Texas at Austin. John and Cindy have loved the warmth and grace at Covenant from the first moment they visited it in 1984. They hope to be part of this caring family for years to come.
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Jill Clark, Director of Christian Education, Certified Christian Educator
Jill (Ritchie) Clark was born in Mineral Wells, Texas and moved frequently due to her father being in the Army. In 1984, Jill came to the San Antonio area where she attended Roosevelt High School. In 1991, Jill graduated from Texas Lutheran College (now Texas Lutheran University) with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Kinesiology. For approximately six years, Jill worked as an athletic trainer for a physical therapy clinic in San Antonio. During this time, she served the church as a Sunday school teacher, Sunday school superintendent, and elder on the Christian Education Committee. Feeling called to serve the church as an educator, Jill began attending classes at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary to receive her certification in Christian Education. In 1998, she was called to be on staff at Covenant, and she completed her Certification process in November 2005. In January 2007, she took on the full-time position of Director of Christian Education. She has three children: Amber, Tim, and Garrett.
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Ana-Alicia Valdez, Youth Ministry Assistant
We welcome Ana-Alicia Valdez back on staff! She has accepted a new position as our Youth Ministry Assistant. This position encourages the faith identity, belonging and leadership growth of a young person. Through this ministry the person calls young people to be disciples of Jesus Christ through worship and mission, responds to the needs and interest of young people through the study of the Bible, our Reformed tradition, and contemporary life issues, participates in youth events, and reaches out to the whole community, our community, and the world inviting other young people to belong to the community of faith. She will have the responsibilities of leading a Sunday morning small group for youth, leading a college/career small group, and assisting/leading in many other areas of our youth ministry events. Please pray for and encourage Ana in her new position as she begins this new role with our youth and young adults. Check out one of the awesome things that she has already implemented - check out the new youth website at true356.youthsite.org.
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