Getting to know Warren Johnson

A part of the warm welcome we feel as we arrive at church on Sunday mornings is the beauty of our church buildings and landscaping. It calls us to worship God with a deep sense of gratitude. The dedicated volunteer members of our Session Facilities Committee help make this possible. Warren Johnson has worked with Facilities for the first two of his three years as an Elder on Session. This follows up on his activities with the Carpenter’s Fellowship, which he and his late wife Patti, joined when they moved here and started attending our church in 1999. He and his fellow volunteers have often helped with the church’s nitty-gritty maintenance tasks. Warren says he “loves to fix things and do good things for God’s kingdom”. He was born and raised in a very small town, Marfa, in the wide-open spaces of southwest Texas. When someone asks him where that is, he enjoys telling them "well, it's not at the end of the earth, but you can see it from there!" Warren has an extensive and interesting technical background. After receiving his BS degree in Electrical Engineering as well as an Air Force officer’s commission from Texas A&M, he worked as an engineer for a year before being called to active duty by the Air Force. Much to his surprise, the Air Force sent him to meteorology school and trained him to be a Weather Officer and pilot briefer! He enjoyed this new field so much that he changed his career plan, and several years later, had earned MS and PhD degrees in meteorology from the University of Wisconsin. Warren spent the next 34 years in atmospheric research and top-level management, including at the Atmospheric Science Center of the Stanford Research Institute in Menlo Park, CA, and later at the Research Aviation Facility of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, CO. The latter group operates several highly instrumented research airplanes for the National Science Foundation. Warren has published numerous technical articles. He’s also a pilot with several licenses and ratings. You can hear the humility in Warren’s voice when he speaks of the ways he has served our church family. He feels blessed to be able to use his energy and talents in these ways. He worked with Don Smith to replace all the door sweeps and 76 window screens in the Education Building. He supervised the design and construction of the new vinyl fence around the HVAC area, and designed and built an extensive water-diversion structure to prevent storm water from flooding that area and adjoining walkways. During the last year, in conjunction with the Carpenter’s Fellowship, Warren has led the revamping of the church’s Memorial Garden. Many new flowering plants, a new irrigation system, and a beautiful statue of Lord Jesus have been added. Also, a contractor has been hired to provide weekly maintenance. In addition to his facilities work, Warren’s been a tenor in our Chancel Choir for 26 years. Prior to being an elder, he served as a Deacon for three years. An important recent task has been as a member of the Pastor Nominating Committee, which has called Rev. Jason Ko to be our Senior Pastor. Warren has two sons in Northern California who have blessed him with five grandchildren, who, he claims, are all “clearly exceptional”. After his wife, Patti, passed from a tragic fall in their home in 2018, and with his sons living at a distance, he feels that his church “family” is very important to him. Imagine the humility in Warren’s willingness to fix screens and door sweeps, and to see his work as a way to thank God for blessing us with such a beautiful church. All his church work is done with that deep spirit of love. Like so many of our volunteers, he shows up with joy and gratitude in his heart to do whatever God is calling him to do. From Irene Dunny and Warren Johnson