Ordained Church Staff

Reverend jane stratford

When the Bishop’s Committee called Rev. Jane Stratford to be the first vicar of Saint Anna’s in the summer of 2020, she was returning to her roots in the church that nurtured her vocation and raised her up. Rev. Jane was born in England and worked as a social worker before moving to California in 1989. She has lived in Brentwood since 1992 and was a member of St. Alban’s, Brentwood for almost 20 years before being ordained in 2012.

After graduating seminary in 2011 Rev. Jane did a full year of CPE (clinical pastoral education) at John Muir Hospital in Concord, after which she served part time for John Muir Health as a chaplain with their Home Health team. When she was ordained to the priesthood in the summer of 2013 she combined this work with a two-year curacy served with the yoked parishes (St. Alban’s, Brentwood; St. George’s, Antioch; St. John’s, Clayton; St, Michel and All Angels, Concord) of Holy Spirit Church in East Contra Costa County until the summer of 2015, when she accepted a position at St. Stephen’s in Orinda, eventually resigning from her position with John Muir Health to serve full time as their associate rector.

Rev. Jane currently lives with her partner Cindy Sodowsky, their dog Toby, and cats Tinkerbell and Remy. Between them they have five children and three grandchildren, and feel blessed that four of their children and two grandchildren live within a few minutes’ walk of their home. Rev. Jane likes to hike and go to the beach, and enjoys working in the garden, cooking for friends and family, doing puzzles, reading, singing, and knitting. She is passionate about social justice issues and full inclusion of all people in God’s church. In her own words:

As long as I can remember I have had a deep and abiding relationship with God that has seen me through difficult times in my life with faith and hope. Our current uncertain and anxious times are a unique opportunity for Saint Anna’s to be a place where people can wrestle with the challenges and suffering of the world without providing answers that exclude or marginalize anyone; to be a place where people can find the connection and community they seek and for which we were all made by God; and to address and alleviate the suffering which comes as a result of people’s struggles. I believe that the Episcopal Church allows space for many and diverse ways of meeting God through Jesus Christ within its tradition and theology. I am particularly interested in how the church can serve the disenfranchised and marginalized. I bring to my ministry the life lessons learned through many years of searching for and wrestling with God’s call, lifelong immersion in the Anglican tradition, and experience from a career in social work and as a small business owner.  I want to make St. Anna’s Episcopal Church a place where people encounter the God that helped me through the difficult and challenging times of my life and experience the life- and world-changing transformation such a relationship can bring.

Reverend Mees Tielens

Rev. Dr. Mees Tielens (he/they) served as St. Anna’s intern for two years, and returned as the Curate after ordination in 2023. Before completing an MDiv at Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, he earned an MA in the Netherlands and a PhD in Germany. At St. Anna’s, he works with children and youth and is involved with LGBTQ+ outreach, alongside the regular duties of preaching, pastoral care, formation, and the like. He likes to read, especially queer romances and space operas, and is always on the hunt for new progressive Christian picture books. He lives with his husband and daughter in Berkeley, where there’s always an art project happening on the kitchen table and LEGO laid out in the living room. Originally from the Netherlands, he loves this part of CA, but thinks it needs more bicycles.