Our Clergy

The Rev. Susan Bek serves as the Rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Ventura. She is a motivated and spirit-filled priest who loves her work serving God in Christ and spreading hope and Good News in the world. She lives in Ventura, California with her husband, Jon. They have four children and four grandchildren. Her passions include preaching, teaching, children’s ministries, music, graphic design and wildlife photography. She is proficient in both English and American Sign Language (ASL) and incorporates sign language every time she celebrates the Eucharist. She does this to show that we are committed to welcoming all, even when that means we need to change in order to become more accessible.

I am a native Californian; born at the Naval Hospital at Camp Pendleton. I am also a life-long Episcopalian, baptized at St. Mary’s, Napa and I attended the Episcopal Day School at Christ Church, Ontario. In1966, I was confirmed by Bishop Bloy. I graduated from Upland High School then went on to attend Cal Poly, Pomona. I hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Resources from Cal Poly, a Master of Arts, Teaching with an elementary emphasis, from Chapman University and a joint Master of Divinity from Claremont School of Theology and the Episcopal Theological School at Claremont (ETSC-Bloy House).

I have been an accountant, a youth director, a school and Sunday school teacher and a priest. Probably most importantly, I am a mother and grandmother. My husband, Enoch, and I have six children, aged 24-41, between us and eleven grandchildren ranging from 2 – 22 years old. Five of the six children live in California and the sixth child is living in Russia, teaching English to preschoolers.

A long time ago in a diocese far, far away…

Deacon Ed was ordained in the Diocese of Spokane in 1980 as a member of the first class to graduate from the Spokane diocesan school of theology. Spending 15 years serving St. James', Pullman, Deacon Ed moved briefly to western Washington (Diocese of Olympia) and then came to Ventura. In 2004 he was assigned to St. Paul’s as deacon assistant.

At St. Paul’s he has worked to train acolytes, Eucharistic ministers, and ushers, as well as assist in teaching confirmation classes. He takes part in the Sunday services, assisting the celebrant and any visiting clergy. Deacon Ed’s calling to following Jesus in his secular job as a high school teacher is to work with students who are having difficulty transitioning in the high school social environment, making a place for them to feel welcome at school and in class.

The Rev. Dr. Richard Swanson started assisting at St Paul's in 2011, after moving to Channel Islands Harbor from Bodega Bay, a small fishing village north of San Francisco. He retired as rector of All Saints, San Leandro in 2001, after serving there for fourteen years. Previously he had served worldwide as an Air Force Chaplain for twenty years. Fr Dick, and his wife, Jan, are delighted to be living in such a lovely setting and close to their daughters and grandsons. Jan 's retired from being a university professor at several schools in the Bay Area and San Antonio, TX. She began as a public health nurse in Detroit before earning a Ph.D. and then went on to teach Public Health Nursing and Epidemiology, to nursing students, as well as working on federal grants involving health care delivery in the United States.