Jennifer Gutierrez to Serve as Interim Director of Justice and Compassion

I am so very pleased to announce the selection of Rev. Jennifer Gutierrez for the position of Director of Justice and Compassion (Interim) for California-Pacific Annual Conference for the 2013-2014 conference year.  Jennifer has served as Associate Director during this time of transition, where her remarkable history of compassionate, insightful and productive leadership continued in full force.  Jennifer has a Master of Divinity Degree from Claremont School of Theology, and is slated to receive a Doctor of Divinity Degree in 2014. As pastor of Pico Union Shalom Ministry, she developed that diverse, Spanish-speaking congregation from the ground up and facilitated collaborative ministry among urban churches. Her gifts for helping communities identify their strengths and assets, and then assisting them to realize their goals, led to her selection as Director of Urban Ministries for the conference in 2005, and to several substantial programs and ministries coming to fruition during her time in that role. Jennifer’s work with immigration is passionate and ongoing, as she has provided leadership, planning, training and support for the Cal-Pac Immigration Task Force.  She launched Cal-Pac Neighborhood Immigration Clinics to facilitate hospitality and legal service provision from churches. An outstanding developer, Jennifer has raised considerable funds over the past several years for the Urban and Justice and Compassion ministries of Cal-Pac, and her leadership in the community has been further substantiated through her work on the Board of Directors of the L.A. United Methodist Urban Foundation and the 1010 Development Corporation.
 
As Director of Justice and Compassion, and in partnership with the Executive Director of Connectional Ministries and the Justice and Compassion Essential Ministry Team, her primary responsibilities will be:

• to engage local churches, extension ministries and their communities in ministries of Justice and Compassion.

• to identify and cultivate various areas of passion and expertise that exist and are developed throughout the Annual Conference.    
  • to ensure the creation and dissemination of district, mission area, and church data bases of churches, ministries, and leaders engaged in Justice and Compassion work, to include specific ministries of compassion and advocacy.
  •  to create and implement a plan to develop and maintain funding  to support the work of the J&CEMT, including apportionments, donations, and grants,  as well as large donors and foundations.

• to coordinate communication and the work of the J&CEMT with the other Conference entities such as the Cabinet, other Essential Ministry Teams and districts to ensure that the ministries of Justice and Compassion are carried out across the Annual Conference in a collaborative, consultative, and consistent manner.
• to ensure that appropriate staff, elected leaders, and volunteers are on track for Covenant Missionary recruitment, training, support, and deployment.

I am confident that Rev. Gutierrez’ passionate commitment to Christ Jesus and to issues of justice will continue to guide her leadership among us.
 
Peace,
Bishop Minerva