Pastoral Staff
Fr. Jeffrey Nelson
Rector
jeffrey.nelson@stbdenver.orghe/him
Father Jeffrey Nelson was born and raised in Wisconsin. He received degrees from Valparaiso University (BA), The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago (MDiv), and Luther Seminary (Th.D).
Ordained in 1986, Fr. Jeffrey served as a pastor, college professor, writer, and editor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America from 1986 to 2010. He was received as a priest in The Episcopal Church at St. Mark’s Cathedral in Minneapolis, Minnesota in January 2010, where he served as Priest Associate until being called as Rector of Episcopal Church of Our Savior in North Platte, Nebraska. He served there from November of 2010 until being called in January of 2019 to serve as Priest-in-Charge at St. Barnabas Parish.
Father Jeffrey is married to Curt Bennett. He has three children from a previous marriage, Katherine, Anna, and Kurt, three stepchildren, and two step-grandchildren. Father Jeffrey and Curt share dual residences in Denver and Johnson Lake, Nebraska with their Yorkies, Lila and Leo. Fr. Jeffrey enjoys reading, music, writing, travel, roller coasters, movies, and board games
Patti Walter
Pastoral Associate
patti.walter@stbdenver.orgshe/her
Patti Walter has her M.Div. and Masters in Marriage and Family Counseling from Fuller Theological Seminary. She comes to St. Barnabas with 30 years of ministry experience in the Presbyterian Church. Having returned to her Episcopal faith in which she grew up, Patti began serving St. Barnabas as the Pastoral Care Associate and now serves as the Pastoral Associate. Patti is passionate about developing community, leading groups into a deeper life of faith and service, and working within a team. And, she loves St. Barnabas! Patti is married to Bill, has three beautiful daughters who are married and a cat named Scout.
Staff
Misty Dupuis
she/her
Misty earned both her Bachelor of Arts degree in Music with a minor in Geography and her Bachelor of Music degree in Music Composition from Metropolitan State University of Denver. She was privileged to be invited back to MSU Denver in the fall of 2019 to serve as the chorus master for the school’s production of the zarzuela Luisa Fernanda. In 2018, she completed her Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Colorado where her thesis was on Women Choral Composers of the Twentieth Century. Misty is an active composer published with Hal Leonard and sings regularly with the Voices of Light Chamber Choir. Misty took over as music director at St. Barnabas Parish in 2019 after serving at Cameron United Methodist Church for three years. She has also directed several community choirs in the Denver and Boulder area. She lives in Aurora with her husband, five children, cats, dogs, and fish.
Julia Wade
she/her
A Southern California native, Julia moved first to Crested Butte, then to Stamford, CT, where she married and raised three children. Having lived most of her life on the east coast, she has found Denver a welcome change, in no small part because of St. Barnabas. The last twenty years of her professional career were spent working for nonprofits in Stamford, first as an administrator in a school for children with severe learning differences, then as a community organizer, and finally as director of volunteers for a large regional nonprofit. She was also elected to the city's Board of Education---a position she held for ten years. Julia is trained and has trained others in anti-racist work. She is a widow and the grandmother of adorable fraternal twins.
Lexi Jones
she/her
Lexi is originally from St. Louis, Missouri. She graduated from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa in 2019 with a degree in music and religion. She received her Master of Divinity in 2022 from Iliff School of Theology and is now in the process to become ordained as a deacon in the ELCA. Lexi is grateful for the opportunity to serve as the bookkeeper at St. Barnabas.
Leadership
The officers of the parish and the members of Vestry (the parish governing board) are lay people elected to lead the parish. Their role is defined by the canons )laws of governance) of The Episcopal Church, the Episcopal Church in Colorado, and the by-laws of St Barnabas Parish. Here is our current leadership. You can contact the vestry at vestry@stbdenver.org. Learn how you can be involved here.
-
Lena Potylondy Sr. Warden
-
Carrie Corrigan, Jr. Warden
-
Jamie Henderson, Treasurer
-
David Ford, Clerk of Vestry
-
John Graves, Member of Vestry (2024)
-
Jolene Whitney, Member of Vestry (2024)
-
Becky Sanders, Member of Vestry (2025)
-
Carolyn Wolfrum, Member of Vestry (2025)
-
Andrea Crary, Member of Vestry (2026)
-
Barb Mattison, Member of Vestry (2026)