SOUTHSIDE STAFF
Ministers All Members of Southside
Pastor The Reverend Alison J. Harrington
The Reverend Alison J. Harrington became Southside's Pastor in January, 2009 bringing with her a passion for Christ and for social justice. She attended the University of California at Berkeley, where she earned a Bachelor's degree in Peace and Conflict Studies with an emphasis in U. S. Race Relations. After graduation, she became a community organizer in the San Francisco Bay Area organizing around issues such as the prison industrial complex and the criminalization of youth of color. Seeking to approach issues of social concern from a faith perspective she left community organizing to attend San Francisco Theological Seminary, where she was a Presidential Scholar. While attending SFTS she began to volunteer at San Quentin State Prison where she worked with the San Quentin Giants Baseball Team and in the Protestant Chapel leading Bible Studies and teaching theology. After graduating with her Master's of Divinity, she served Covenant Presbyterian Church in Palo Alto, California and served as a facility chaplain in the Santa Clara County Jail system. Alison has served the denomination as a Global Youth Intern in 1994 to Ethiopia, a Young Adult Volunteer to Belfast Northern Ireland in 1996, and has traveled on peace and justice delegations to Chiapas, Colombia, and Cuba. In 2010 she was named one of Tucson’s 40 under 40 and in 2011 she was awarded the Beatitudes Society Brave Preacher Award. In 2013-2014, Alison was a Beatitudes Society Fellow. In the Fall of 2014, Alison was named by the Center for American Progress as one of 15 Faith Leaders to Watch in 2015, she was honored as the 2016 Distinguished Alumna for SFTS, and most recently was recognized as one of the "10 Women of Faith Leading the Charge Ahead" by Sojourners.
Click here to read Pastor Alison's blog on Huffington Post
Contact information: Email
Phone: 520-623-6857
Click here to read Pastor Alison's blog on Huffington Post
Contact information: Email
Phone: 520-623-6857
Office Manager Jean Marie Keplinger
Jean came to Arizona from the East Coast in 1996. It took several years to fully appreciate the Southwest, but finally, without hesitation, she now considers it home. She adores the desert and has made getting out into it as much as possible a priority in her life. She earned master's degrees in Art History and Information Resources and Library Science, and enjoyed working as a curator of visual resources for the School of Art at the University of Arizona, but perhaps has yet to find her truest passion. The daughter of a priest, Jean is a cradle Episcopalian, but has long been a great admirer of the community of Southside. She is very grateful to have found an opportunity to support a congregation with such a rich history of welcoming all, of commitment to social justice ministries, and of joyful service in our community and for our world.
Contact: Email
Phone: 520-623-6857
Contact: Email
Phone: 520-623-6857
Custodian Juan Alvarez
Juan performs cleaning duties in the church buildings and facilities as well as performs minor grounds keeping and related activities.
Director of Children & Youth Ministry Stefan Warner
Stefan began serving as our Director of Children and Youth Ministry in the summer of 2018. Originally from Harrah, Oklahoma, Stefan relocated to Tucson in the winter of 2017. Stefan previously served as Minister of Youth & Young Adults at Church of the Open Arms (UCC) in Oklahoma City. He additionally served in a variety of roles in youth ministry settings with progressive Catholics, Baptists, Mennonites, and more. Prior to moving to Arizona, Stefan worked with Christian Peacemaker Teams in Iraqi Kurdistan, as wells as traveled on delegations to Colombia and Grassy Narrows First Nation (Canada). Stefan is proud to be a co-owner of the Fertile Ground Cooperative, a worker-owned recycling and compost business in Oklahoma City. Stefan enjoys hiking, coffee, and supporting social movements for change.
Contact: Email
Phone: 520-623-6857
Contact: Email
Phone: 520-623-6857
Pastor Emeritus The Reverend John Fife
John Fife was a member of the original Sanctuary Movement and was a co-founder of the immigrant rights group No More Deaths. He served as a minister for 35 years at Southside Presbyterian Church in Tucson. In 1992 Fife was elected General Moderator of the Presbyterian Church (USA). He is now pastor emeritus at Southside Presbyterian. In the 1980s John Fife co-founded the Sanctuary Movement in the United States. The movement organized over 500 churches to help the refugees cross the border and find sanctuary in the U.S. In 2004 a group of religious leaders in Tucson formed a coalition called No More Deaths to attempt to end the deaths of immigrants along the US/Mexico border. John Fife was among the leaders of that effort and continues to work closely with No More Deaths.
