Staff
The Rev. Cornel Barnett, D.Min. — Pastor
Barbara Bacon-Shaw– Director of Music
Faith McClellan — SFTS Intern
Mari Robinson — Office Administrator
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The Rev. Cornel Barnett, the pastor at Redwoods Presbyterian Church, and his wife Suellen, at the entrance of the San Francisco Bay with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. 
Cornel has served churches in the Bay Area for over a decade and has also ministered in churches in Staten Island, New York, and Jacksonville, Florida. Suellen is a marriage and family therapist in Napa where she works with youth at risk.
Cornel was called to be the pastor at Redwoods Presbyterian Church in August, 2008, and loves this church. The members are warm, caring, accepting, and inclusive. He is committed to the fullness of ministry – worship, education, community, and mission.
Cornel was born in South Africa. His growing years included school, rugby and surfing. He represented South Africa at the World Surfing Championships and later wrote a book on surfing, called Hitting the Lip, published by Macmillan. He was a journalist with South African newspapers in his first career and developed a sense of the inequities in the country and worked to end the system of apartheid.
Cornel married Suellen, a US citizen, and their children Anna and David were born in South Africa. The family moved to the US in the early eighties for Cornel to attend San Francisco Theological Seminary (SFTS) where he earned a Masters of Divinity. A decade later he acquired a Doctor of Ministry degree at SFTS. In 1994, he was an international election observor at the historic, first, democratic elections in South Africa and in Mexico.
He has had a broad range of theological and ministry experiences. He is centered in his relationship with God, in Christ, inspired by the Holy Spirit. He loves the church at large when it affirms love, compassion, inclusivity, peace, and justice. He loves the dynamic nature of the Presbyterian church which is reformed, always reforming, according to the Word of God and the call of the Spirit. He describes his theology as eclectic (valuing many streams) and he appreciates religious pluralism.
He agrees with Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 that “faith, hope, and love abide…and the greatest of these is love.”
Cornel welcomes hearing from members, friends and all those interested in the church and he can be reached at 415-924-4832 or at pastor@redwoodspres.org.
Barbara Bacon-Shaw, Director of Music and her family of performing musicians grew up in Detroit, Michigan, where in the living room, a Gulbransen Theatre organ and a piano stood side by side. High school years brought touring in Europe with “Up with People,” until college years and a move to the west coast brought her into a career in corporate entertainment during Silicon Valley’s hey-day. Upon the burst of the Silicon Valley bubble, Barb and her husband, Keith (who she met at Michigan State University), started their family.
Today, their three teenagers, Parker (college freshman and athlete in baseball), Paige (Terra Linda High junior and ballet student) and Piper (San Rafael High freshman and varsity cheerleader) keep them busy, as well as owning the Quiznos Franchise in Montecito center across from San Rafael High School.
Barb keeps ultra busy with 35 private piano and voice students, as well as providing choral and music services for Aldersley and Aegis. Additionally she is the lead accompanist for the Marin Girls Chorus and provides music services for Coleman and Laurel Dell elementary schools as well as San Rafael High and Marin School for the Arts. Rounding out the week, she performs either in San Francisco at the Fairmont on Saturday nights, or in the Wine Country at Silverado Country Club, Harvest Inn, Charles Krug, Beringer, V. Sattui, or any of the wineries that the tourists and wedding go-ers love!
Her church work has taken her all over Marin, from Novato Presbyterian to Trinity Lutheran to Unity of Marin, to First Presbyterian of San Anselmo and many others. Her performance company, “Essentially Classic Entertainment,” has provided Broadway-style ensemble shows at the Intercontinental Hotel in San Francisco, as well at Pier 39 Theatre, Diablo Country Club and venues all around the Bay Area.
Barbara would love to hear from members and all others interested in music, and can be reached at 924-4832 or barbaco@pacbell.net.
Faith McClellan, SFTS intern, was born in New Orleans, La. and spent a great deal of her young adulthood in the Northeastern United States. As a member of the oratory team, Faith spent her weekends competing in regional speech tournaments. Her interests in literature and international relations led to a BA in English Literature with concentrations in both Creative Writing and Latin American Studies. She is a graduate of Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Ga.
As a former educator, Faith has had experiences teaching and tutoring a diverse student population. She has also served as a crisis counselor to autistic and individuals with multiple disabilities.
As a student at San Francisco Theological Seminary, Faith is pursuing a Master of Divinity. Her ministry interests are: creating multicultural congregations, pastoral theology, and Christian Spirituality.
Faith is preparing to be a teaching elder in the PC (USA). Her home church is First Presbyterian Church San Anselmo, and she is an Inquirer in the Redwoods Presbytery.
Mari Robinson, Office Administrator, came to Redwoods Presbyterian Church from the Lloyd Center Pastoral Counseling Service at the San Francisco Theological Seminary, which closed in July, 2009.
Mari works mornings from Monday through Thursday. She is also employed by Westminster Presbyterian Church as the editor of their monthly newsletter and in the afternoons by Redwoods’ tenant, SoloQuest School and Learning Center.
Mari, a longtime active member of Westminster, lives in Mill Valley with her husband, Richard, a Regional Director of Employee and Labor Relations for Catholic Healthcare West, and their daughter, Elise, a recent graduate of Occidental College.
Mari’s activities at Westminster include teaching Sunday school, Mill Street Shelter team head, new member photos and photo directory support. She was a Bible Study member for 15 years, is currently under the spiritual direction of Westminster’s Pat O’Neil and takes meditation and yoga classes at Spirit Rock.
Mari is a lifelong artist, and for the past fifteen years, a bird watercolorist. She uses her art for her spiritual direction and has enjoyed describing this process to Redwoods and others. Stop by her office to say hello and see some samples of her work! She may be contacted at the church at 924-4832 or office@redwoodspres.org.
