Email - pastorjane@umcps.org

Jane Voigts is excited to come to the UMC of Palm Springs! She has been on “family leave” for the past five years caring for her parents in northeast Iowa. Jane grew up in Des Moines, in the Lutheran Church and in a funny family. After graduating from college (Oberlin and Indiana U) in 1981, she moved to Chicago to begin pursuing her dream of becoming a comedian. Jane performed in improv troupes and stand-up clubs throughout the Chicagoland area, and in 1987 she moved to Los Angeles to continue realizing her dream…which led her to the First UMC of Santa Monica and an astonishing call to ordained ministry in Joshua Tree on Good Friday 1991. (Of course!) Jane attended the Claremont School of Theology and earned a Master of Divinity in 1996. There she also began discovering all sorts of ways to bring her gifts and passion for comedy into the worlds of ministry, Church and theology (including the creation of an improv troupe of CST seminarians called “Angelic Residue”). Jane has served at Westwood UMC (1996-2002), First UMC of Appleton (WI) (2002-2006), San Luis Obispo UMC (2006-2012) and Toluca Lake UMC (2012-2013). While on leave, she has regularly guest-preached, began the blog “The Comic Lens” that explores how the Bible actually intends to make us laugh, and developed “The Bible Cabaret: A Music and Comedy Revue Starring the Old and New Testaments” that she has performed around the country and now looks forward to bringing to the Coachella Valley! Jane loves hiking, yoga, traveling, classic movies, music of all sorts, her cat Marcos, and collecting polyester pant suits, for starters! She looks forward to getting to know you and beginning the next leg of the journey together!

Click here to visit Pastor Jane's website

Click here to listen to Pastor Jane on a local radio show, The Bill Feingold Show

Email - jeremy@umcps.org

Jeremy Wells came to the United Methodist Church of Palm Springs Director of Christian Education in June of 2016. Prior to that, he served as Director of Youth and Family Ministries of Atascadero UMC in Atascadero, California.

In addition to leading small group studies, playing guitar in worship, teaching Sunday school, and organizing the monthly Messy Church worship service, Jeremy is pursuing a Master of Divinity from the Claremont School of Theology and seeking ordination in the United Methodist Church. Coming from Oregon, Jeremy is a huge fan of the University of Oregon and enjoys all things Oregon Ducks.

He graduated from Concordia University- Portland in 2006 with a degree in Business Administration concentrating in International Management

Jeremy has recently married his girlfriend of four years, Erin. They have an adorable tuxedo cat named Rocky.

Email - music@umcps.org

For over 20 years, Dr. Wayne Hinton has pursued an active career as a vocal coach and recital pianist in chamber music, opera, and song repertoire in addition to working in arts administration. After finishing his undergraduate studies in piano with honors at Florida State University, he was awarded a scholarship to study at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna and at the Institute of Advanced Musical Studies in Montreux, Switzerland. In this innovative school, he performed in Master Classes of such great artists as Gregor Piatigorsky, Zino Francescatti, composer Alberto Ginastera, and pianists Ania Dorfmann and John Ogdon. After finishing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Southern California, Dr. Hinton worked as a music editor for film and television and was assistant music director of Orange County Opera and Golden West Opera. Dr. Hinton has been the Executive Director of the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony, the General Manager of the Nimoy Concert Series of Temple Israel of Hollywood, and the Executive Director of the Riverside County Philharmonic in Riverside, CA. He currently works as Opera Coach and Accompanist at the University of Redlands, Adjunct Faculty at Moreno Valley College, and is the Music Director of the United Methodist Church of Palm Springs.

Dr. Ed Hartman has lived in Palm Springs since 1961 and was a music teacher and administrator in the local school district for twenty-one years. He has a Bachelor and Masters degree in Music Education from the University of Arizona and a Doctorate in Education from USC. He has been the director of the Handbell Choir at the Methodist Church since 1984.

Email - info@umcps.org

Erin Forgét-Wells has lived in Palm Springs for nearly three years. She began helping in the church office in the fall of 2016, before taking a full-time position in March 2018. She enjoys connecting with people and helping them get connected.

Erin loves all things soccer, going to the movies, and spending time with friends and family (as well as her cat, Rocky).