Rev. Jessica Vaughan Lower

Jessica graduated from the University of California at Irvine before graduating from Princeton Theological Seminary in 2006. Ordained in the Presbyterian Church, USA that same year, Jessica served churches outside Philadelphia, PA; in Montecito, CA; and El Paso, TX before arriving at SMCC in 2018. She serves on the editorial board for the Journal for Religious Leadership and continues her education as a PhD student in Leadership and Change through Antioch University.

Jessica lives in San Marino with her husband, Andy, their two children, Marloe and Levi, and their dog, Winston Churchill PM. She did not help name the dog, but she did help name the children. Jessica enjoys picking up new facts and trivia, listening to a broad spectrum of music, discovering new restaurants, and dreading the gym.

Jessica believes that practicing faith should bring joy and not judgement. She believes in working toward unity, not uniformity, and she doesn’t have to agree with people in order to genuinely like them. Jessica has a knack for faces and names, but might ask you to repeat yours upon occasion. She is sensitive to people who have been wounded by Christians and churches in the past, still feels a sense of wonder about the world, and believes that God’s love for people and creation is overwhelmingly and life-changingly real.