Clergy and Staff

 Julia and her family (her wife, Caitlin Offinger, and their kids Harry and Gus) arrived at St. John’s in February 2026. She was ordained to the priesthood in 2018, and received her M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary in 2014, where she won the Karen Ziegler prize for preaching. She has been the community coordinator at St. Lydia’s Dinner Church in Brooklyn (ELCA), the program minister at All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Brooklyn, and most recently the Senior Associate Rector at Grace Church in New York. She serves on the Commission on Ministry and as Secretary of Convention for the Episcopal Diocese of New York. You can read her sermons at https://joffinger.substack.com/

Elise completed her bachelors and masters degrees in music composition at The Juilliard School. She has worked with many esteemed ensembles, including the Seattle Symphony, Symphony Tacoma, The Juilliard Orchestra, Trio Immersio, Seattle Opera, The Dolphins String Quartet, and the Talea Ensemble, and soloists Paul Demers and Efe Baltacigil. Her works have also been premiered at the Curtis Institute of Music's Young Artists' Summer Program, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Norfolk New Music Festival, and Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival. She was awarded the Gena Raps Prize and selected as a winner of the Jon Deak First Music Commissioning Competition.

Megan Whalen has worked in the Episcopal Church since 2012. She got her start as a Sunday School teacher and Middle School Youth Group director; she brings that wealth of experience to St. John’s as the administrative support for our Church School and Youth Group programs. Megan embarked on her bookkeeping career with the Episcopal Church in 2017 and became bookkeeper at St. John’s in 2019; she took on St. John’s Administrator tasks in 2021.

Under the direction of the clergy and in consultation with the Treasurer, Megan is responsible for overseeing administrative operations and the financial health of the church. This role involves managing the church’s budgeting, accounting, and reporting activities, as well as numerous administrative and Communications functions that ensure the smooth running of the church’s day-to-day operations. She plays a vital role in supporting the church’s mission and vision and contributes to our spiritual well-being with her compassionate presence. 

Megan is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Columbia Teachers College. She has three children and loves working with St. Johns!