The Rev. Dr. Kathlyn James, our Senior Pastor, began her ministry at EUMC in July 2007. In twenty-one years she has served four congregations in the Pacific Northwest, most recently First United Methodist Church in downtown Seattle. Her education includes a M.S. in Counseling, an M.Div. from Vancouver School of Theology, and a D.Min. from San Francisco Theological Seminary. Her dissertation was entitled, "Preaching to Post-Moderns: a Conversational Art.Kathlyn has three grown children and three lively grandchildren. Her passions include preaching, worship, inclusiveness, social justice, creation theology, spiritual formation, and pastoral leadership. She is an avid birder, traveler, reader, journaler, beachcomber, and vegetarian cook.

Rev. Paul Mitchell is our Associate Pastor, as of July 2008. He previously served as Associate Pastor at Westwood United Methodist Church in Los Angeles. He was an architect for 17 years in New York City and Los Angeles before being called into pastoral ministry. He is a graduate of the University of Denver, Columbia University, and Claremont School of Theology. Upon graduation from CST he was awarded the Good Shepherd Preaching Award and the Award for Excellence in Biblical Scholarship. He is passionate about young people, social justice, and the Hebrew Bible. Paul and his partner Mary Eaves Mitchell have been married since 1988, and have three amazing children, Fay, Tegan, and Ian. They also have an adorable and badly trained dog named PJ.

Cheryl Hay hails from Portland, Oregon and has been a member of EUMC since 1988. As Church Administrator, Cheryl directs and oversees: the administrative staff and functions; financial, business and legal matters; and in conjunction with the Board of Trustees, oversees and directs building maintenance and housekeeping. Her major goal is to free the pastors of business-related work, giving them more time for their ministry to the congregation. Cheryl enjoys singing, loves walking, and lives in the church neighborhood with her husband, Hal.

June Jackson is our Director of Adult Spiritual Development. Originally from Nashville, Tennessee, June and her husband, Mike, have lived aboard their classic wooden motor yacht the “Lady Mick” on Seattle’s Lake Union for 16 years. June has a B.A. in Religion and a M.A. in Religious Education and has worked professionally for over 30 years as an educator with Episcopal and United Methodist churches; her most recent position was with First United Methodist, Seattle, for eight years and prior to that for 12 years at First United Methodist, Bellevue. June and Mike have a combined family of six children, nine grandchildren, and one great-grand child. June’s strong interests lie with the “emerging church”, empowering lay-ministry, and spiritual practices. She loves summer cruising in the San Juan and Canadian Gulf Islands, and being a “Nana”. June and Mike, and Jolie-the-Bichon, live in Kingston with Washington State ferries now providing her “boating fix”.

Stephen Marshall-Ward is our Director of Music Ministries and Organist. Stephen’s love of church music and passion for “arts and faith together” began early in life. At the age of 15 he held his first professional position as a church organist at a Methodist church in Salem, Oregon. He has a bachelors degree in church music with a focus in piano (and a minor in church administration) and a masters degree in church music with a focus in choral conducting. He has completed post graduate and doctoral work at Westminster Choir College and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Stephen has taught music theory and directed the Men’s Chorus at Seattle Pacific University. Stephen’s love for buildings and architecture finds its outlet through his own design company, Stephen Marshall Design. He has two sons, Andrew and Alex. Stephen lives in Lynnwood with his partner, James Marshall-Ward.

Dr. Wanda Griffiths is our Associate Director of Music Ministries and Organist. Wanda’s primary responsibilities are to accompany the choir and other musical ministries and to assist Stephen Marshall-Ward at the pipe organ and in directing the choirs. Wanda’s credentials are numerous: from her masters in Organ Performance to her Ph.D. in Musicology. As a published editor and author and a guest recitalist across the country, Wanda brings a wonderful array of experiences to our staff.

Peggy Kennedy is the Director of the Edmonds Food Bank. After working for many years as a volunteer in this capacity, Peggy was made an official member of the church staff in 1996, as it was recognized the vital part the food bank plays in the mission of EUMC. The food bank serves 300-350 families per week, and is run by a group of 110 volunteers. Peggy, an Oklahoma native, has lived in the Edmonds area for over 40 years, and has 4 grown children and 2 grandchildren. She considers the food bank to be her primary passion, but she loves to have friends in for dinner, going to the theatre and travel.

Heather Peterson-Bruno is the Director of the Debbie Leraas Children’s Center at EUMC. Heather is thrilled to be the new director of the children’s center. “I feel blessed to have been a part of this wonderful preschool program for the past four years, so my face may be familiar to some of the congregation.” Prior to living in Washington, Heather lived in Oregon during which time she lived on a sailboat, gave birth to son, Noah, spent a great deal of time outdoors, attended the University of Oregon, and worked with children and adults with special needs (not necessarily all at once!). Heather feels very strongly that working with children is her calling and she is grateful to be here.

David Walters is our Building Manager. David’s primary responsibilities involve managing the facilities and grounds of the church and the other church properties as well as coordinating the volunteers who accomplish the tasks needed to keep our church and grounds in pristine condition. He divides his time between these duties and his cleaning company that he has owned since 1991. Dave and his wife, Haydee, live in Lynnwood, and have two children. They have been married since 1976. Like most people living in the Northwest, they too are immigrants from the Midwest (Michigan).

Chona Ocampo, Children's Ministries Associate, coordinates children's programs at Edmonds UMC from Sunday School, recruiting volunteers, home visits, planning and participating in Vacation Bible School, Easter activities, Club 56, to childcare and regularly communicates with children and their parents.

Nora Thornton, Administrative Assistant. Nora has been a member at EUMC since 1992, and began working in the office in July 2008. Nora had a similar position at a Lutheran Church in the 1980's, before computers were in broad use, so she needed to take some online computer courses to get up-to-speed for this position at EUMC. She loves working in the EUMC office. It feels like “home”. She is married to Sandy, and they have a daughter, Sara, who is in college.

Sharon Ryder is our Communications Coordinator. Originally from NW Ohio, Sharon has lived in the Seattle area since 2000 with her husband Andrew and sons, James and Braden. Sharon has been an administrative support professional for over 12 years with the majority of that time spent in higher education settings. In her role as Communications Coordinator, Sharon works with the Communications Team to produce effective communications materials including the Guidelights newsletter, special events publications, maintains the website, and provides administrative support to the ministers and program staff. She has a B.A. in Music Education from Anderson University in Anderson, IN (Go Ravens!) and enjoys singing with Charisma and being an instrumentalist in worship at EUMC.