Staff

 Rev. Mary Elyn Bahlert, Pastor
    Mary Elyn has been privileged to serve as pastor with the good people of Lake Merritt United Methodist Church for the past 13 years. 
    She grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and arrived in California in 1982 to go to seminary at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley.  She's a city person who is committed to ministry here in downtown Oakland.  She is grateful for the commitment of the congregation here to serve the city.  Here her own walk with Jesus is strengthening!
    Her husband, Jeff Kunkel, is an Interim UMC pastor serving at Trinity UMC, Berkeley.  They live in Oakland with our cat, LiLi. 
   She enjoys reading, walking, laughing, good conversations with good friends and exploring the diverse world of scriptural practices across cultures and religions.

Katie Koeplin, Music Director
   Katie holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from San Jose State where she studied improvised Musics which included jazz, gospel, popular music, Afro-Latin and other world music styles. She obtained a degree from vocal jazz guru Phil Mattson's School for Music Vocations in Iowa and recently completed her M.A. in Drama at San Francisco State.
   As Music Director, she leads worship on Sundays, directs the church choir, and prepares special music and performances with the church.
   She is also the Musical Director of the Oakland Jazz Choir and has worked as both director/conductor and accompanist with various choral, jazz, vocal and theatrical groups. Katie has also acted with various theatre companies and has sung and recorded with multiple jazz/R&B/funk/soul and Afro-Latin groups in the Bay Area. 

Terra Lynn, Facilities Administrator

Katye Crawford, Office Manager
   Katye grew up in the United Methodist church at San Jose First in San Jose, CA. She attended UC Davis for University, and moved to East Oakland in August of 2010.
   She has worked at Lake Merritt UMC since January 2011. She also works for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, with the Urban Projects office, where she helps college students learn about God’s heart for the poor through weekend, week-long, and summer-long experiences in over 25 cities in the United States. 
   She is also an intern with Servant Partners, an organization that seeks the transformation of urban poor communities through church planting and community organizing. With her internship, she studies scripture, lives in community and seeks to build deep relationships with her neighbors.