St. Andrew's By-the-Sea United Methodist Church

Pastors and Staff

Rev. Dr. Paula A. Ferris - Senior Pastor

With degrees from UCLA (BA-1978) and The Claremont School of Theology (M.Div.- 1983; D.Min.-1988), Dr. Ferris has served a variety of United Methodist Churches throughout the Southern California area since 1981. In addition to her pastoral duties, Dr. Ferris has also served as the executive director of the Willmore Urban Center in Long Beach, providing tutoring, gang prevention, and youth leadership services to children and youth, and job-training services to adults. Pastor Paula comes to us from Northridge UMC, where she turned the church around from a state of decline to growth and focus on children, youth, and family ministries. Pastor Paula brings a passion for preaching and worship as the core event that binds the Christian community and equips it for service in the world. She believes that the church is called to equip its members to make God’s love known in the world in many ways. She believes that the vision for each church is discerned by attending to the gifts and graces that God has sent to the congregation through its people. A believer in spiritual gifts and equipping ministry, Paula’s personal passions include engaging the church with its community in ways that make a difference. She asks, “Would our community miss us if we disappeared tomorrow?” She is also concerned that individuals find their way into a passionate and personal relationship with God. Her others interests include music (worship and otherwise), reading, travel, golf and, conveniently, looking at the ocean and being at the beach.

Chris McCann - Director of Discipleship

Chris is the Director of Discipleship, overseeing the Invitation and Welcome ministries. She holds a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education and her undergraduate work was in Sociology and Psychology. After a career in retail management, Chris is bringing her leadership skill set and her journey of faith to this position in order to share God’s message of love to more seekers. A native Californian, she has lived in the Bay Area and the Central Valley; she relocated to southern California when she and her husband, Keith, got married in St. Andrew’s in 2003. They have two adult children, Keith’s son Michael and Chris’s daughter Emily. Chris has a passion for her family and lifelong friends, as well as for horseback riding. She also enjoys reading, cooking and making their house a “home.”

Emily Bredthauer - Director of Age Level Ministries

Emily Bredthauer is our director of Age Level Ministries. She is a life-long United Methodist. Emily holds a Masters in Social Work with an emphasis on work with families and children from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Emily enjoys music, gardening, craft projects, cooking, writing, and spending time with friends and family. Emily is married to Greg and they have two children.

Shaunna Heule - Director of Youth Ministries

Shaunna Heule relocated from St. Paul, MN to Oceanside last summer, where she has been pursuing ordination in the Order of Deacons in the UMC. She holds a Master's Degree in Congregational Ministries and Leadership: Educational Leadership, and has spent several years working in different facets of youth development in both secular and spiritual settings. During her college years, she was fortunate to be able to participate in and hold leadership roles in several Christian organizations including Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Proclaim (contemporary Christian worship), and Gustavus Youth Outreach. Additionally, she has been a youth, pastoral, and worship intern at various times, as well as an interim worship leader. It is her goal to combine her passion for God, her experiences, and her abilities to be an enthusiastic, diligent, and compassionate Christian educator who will make a positive contribution to the community, as well as inspire students to challenge themselves and grow in all areas of their faith and life. Shaunna adores anything that involves being outside including camping, canoeing, attempting to surf, and sports in general ... as well as music, coffee, and traveling.