Pastor Paige started her career in ministry at the age of 6, when she was invited to help her grandmother, the long-time secretary of St. Matthews UMC in Memphis. When the offering coins had been counted out into their little paper rolls, and Sunday worship attendance had been carefully tallied, Paige would take a break and wander alone into the sanctuary to experience the living silence of a sacred space.
She grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, where she was known as a good student, active MYF member, tenacious rifle-twirler and a second-chair trombonist. Pastor Paige is a political science graduate of Furman University in Greenville, SC. She spent her junior year in Japan and can still speak the informal, incomplete Japanese of a year abroad.
Pastor Paige received a Master of Public Policy from UC Berkeley, where she found a community of friends-for-life, all of whom remain committed to just and equitable public service, anchoring Paige's network of professionals in public health, housing, and education. After Berkeley, Paige worked at the World Bank as part of a team seeking to integrate NGO financing in poverty alleviation projects.
This was followed by a year in India with Habitat for Humanity.
Through the 90's Pastor Paige was the Executive Director of Sierra Service Project (SSP) and part of Rockridge United Methodist Church in Oakland. This intense church consisting almost entirely of young adults fostered her growth as a disciple and as a leader. At the same time, SSP grew in capacity and leaned in to Christ-centered ministry. The intertwining of these experiences became a call to ministry.
Her seminary years were spent at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, where she received an excellent theological education and became an even more radical Jesus follower. She also met her husband Forrest Robinson in Atlanta. Together they returned to California, where Forrest continued touring with India Arie, and Paige began her ministry at Anaheim UMC. Forrest is an awesome drummer who plays with celebrity guitarists, a delightful Irish band, and an expensive agency band. He generally makes Pastor Paige cooler by association.
Over the last 16+ years, Paige and Forrest have served Anaheim UMC, Pasadena First UMC, Crescenta Valley UMC, and University UMC in Irvine. As of July 2018, Pastor Paige began as the pastor of La Mirada United Methodist Church. She also serves as the Assistant District Director for the South District, where she works primarily with property development projects.
