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ABOUT US & OUR BOARD

OUR BOARD

Connectional Teaching Ministries has a vision for a new kind of faith community that is vital to the communities we inhabit. We believe that by working together, congregations can better meet the needs of our congregants and our neighbors, particularly our LGBTQ+ siblings. In order to create an ecosystem of collaborative entities that function to see the needs of the people as holy and respond accordingly, we have built a leadership team that transcends the borders of each of our congregations, transforming our faith communities from silos to connected, intertwined, and integrated communities. Here is who we are:

  • Connectional Teaching Pastor

  • Community UMC (Huntington Beach)

    • Collaborating Pastor: Rev. George Hooper

    • Board Member: Gaye Fisher

    • Board Member: Greg Anderson

    • Kristen Luevanos

    • Lee McKlenshaw

    • Dee Fink

  • Mesa Verde UMC (Costa Mesa)

    • Collaborating Pastor: Rev. Matt Seargeant

    • Board Member: Bea Volper

    • Board Member: Kathy McKalip

    • Ben Shaw

    • Susan Shaw

  • First UMC of Costa Mesa

    • Collaborating Pastor: Rev. Matt Hambrick

    • Board Member: Corey Clippinger

    • Board Member: Sharon Canfield

  • Christ Church by the Sea (Newport Beach)

    • Collaborating Pastor: Rev. Dr. Paul Capetz

    • Board Member: Bonnie Berger

    • Board Member: Diana Hensley

    • Mary May

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Our Vision

Our Vision

There are folks who are struggling to navigate what it means to be a Christian when Christianity does not look a whole lot like Jesus, and have found themselves yearning for a theology of love and hope, trust and support, and want spaces to co-create that. We have a vision for a new faith community and we are committed to creating an ecosystem of collaborative entities that function to see the needs of the people as holy and respond accordingly.

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Our work is guided by a commitment to justice and compassion, where individuals in need find sanctuary (comfort and compassion), and where the systems that create individual and social marginalization and oppression are resisted (justice). Our work seeks to transform the individual and society, where hearts and minds are changed or further entrenched in Christian love in order to change personal and social actions. We create appropriate, safe, and brave faith-based space(s) with an atmosphere of hope, love, faithfulness, and trust. This creates disciple growth which then sends folks out into the greater community (discipleship), connecting congregants with the community’s needs (service), and serving those needs in a way that represent Christ in the world, bringing the good news of a just and loving God to the world that sees the people’s needs as holy (evangelism).

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Our vision is for a web of congregations that are vital to their communities -- that are integral to the communities they inhabit. The impact we have already seen and hope to sustain has led to meaningful growth of disciples, but now we have the opportunity to bring more new folks into the fold through this connectional model and the transformation of our ministries. The folks listed above are ready to take the next step, we have momentum behind us and we hope that you will join us!

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