As announced last week, Rev. Dr. Denyse Barnes started personal leave on March 2, 2025, and will be relocating to England with her wife. The Connectional Ministries team is thrilled to announce an interim Justice and Compassion ministries team consisting of:

Rev. Karin Ellis – JCEMT Program Coordinator
Karin is an ordained Elder in the United Methodist Church and currently serves as the pastor of La Cañada United Methodist Church. Karin is an active member of the Abolitionist Task Force of the California-Pacific Annual Conference and participates in her community through the Sheriff’s Clergy Council, The YMCA Chaplain Services, and the La Canada Clergy Council.

Krista Bilderbach – Disaster Response Coordinator
Krista is a lay member from Community UMC of Huntington Beach, and has been involved in disaster response efforts for over 15 years. Krista began serving on work team trips at her church before joining the Conference Disaster Task Force about ten years ago. Her journey from work team volunteer to ERT member to conference-level leadership lends her the ability to see the bigger picture of long-term recovery efforts.

Monalisa S. Tu’itahi – Immigration Ministries Coordinator
Monalisa is an immigration attorney in California and a member of the Pacific Islander Caucus of The United Methodist Church. Monalisa served as our first elected lay delegate to the 2020/2024 General Conference and is co-chair of the Western Jurisdiction Leadership Team. She shares, “I am grateful for the Annual Conference’s deep intentionality in affirming the great need for this work for such a time as this. I am humbled and privileged for the opportunity to be a part of it, using my legal skills to live into the greater purpose of serving God and neighbor in this season.”

Erin Hawkins, Executive Director of Connectional Ministries, shared that this interim team will be in place as Connectional Ministries continues to discern the best ways to support the vital work of justice and compassion ministries, and permanent job announcements are forthcoming. Hawkins “is excited to have the interim team in place to help us continue to define and pursue our work throughout the conference.”