Emmanuel Lutheran Church
Staff & Leaders

Dawn Wilder
Pastor

Pastor Dawn Wilder began serving Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Bakersfield March of 2017. She recently transferred her ordination from the MCC churches to the ELCA. She was first ordained in 1996. She has over ten years experience working with homeless and underprivileged youth. She has also worked as a chaplain and bereavement counselor for a hospice. She served as Associate Pastor for MCCLA as the Director of Congregational Life and ran a drop in center for homeless and at-risk youth in West Hollywood. She then served as Interim Pastor for MCC Glendale. Dawn is also a fully credentialed K-8 teacher and taught 4th and 5th grade for the Inglewood Unified School District where she also provided technology education for students and staff. She holds a Master of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary and completed a two-year residency in Clinical Pastoral Education at UCLA Medical Center. She also holds a MA in Technology Based Education from CSUDH.