Spanaway United Methodist Church

Pastor Samara Jenkins was born in Nebraska, raised in Arizona, called to ministry in Ohio, spent a year in the desert of Las Vegas, and most recently, a year in beautiful Wyoming! She is the mom of 6, and bonus mom to 6, making an even dozen. All but one of the children are grown and scattered throughout the Midwest, the South, and the Southwest. She and her husband Antwone love making new friends, eating great food and learning about local culture and history. They will make their home in Spanaway with their youngest son Elijah, who is 11 going on 30! Pastor Samara has been in ministry 8 years and has lived her call in a variety of settings, including campus ministry. Her joy comes from missions, teaching, and planting new ministry programs. Pastor Samara is looking forward to “kin”dom building with the Saints of Spanaway UMC!

Church Council is responsible for the overall vision and mission of Spanaway UMC, sets priorities for ministry, evaluates ministry effectiveness and approves the budget.

Meeting: Last Wednesday of the month at 6:30pm

This group is comprised of several lay servants/ speakers within the church, including Al Harmon, Ed Root & Amani Tamaalii. Lay Servants/Speakers are people who are committing themselves to go through a certification process within the United Methodist Church. They are available to speak during the service, to lead small groups and to help with the Pastoral care of the body.

Finance Team is responsible for the day to day financial operations of the church. Creates the annual budget, authorizes special offerings and fundraisers.

Meeting: 2nd Wednesday at 6:30 pm

Staff- Parish Relations is our Personnel Committee and supervises the Pastor, Administrative Assistant and other paid Staff; assists the District Superintendent (DS) in times of pastoral changes; gives guidance to the Council and Trustees in their supervision of the of the staff and reviews staffing policies.

Meeting: 2nd Wednesday at 6:30 pm

Valerie Chittick grew up in the Spanaway United Methodist Church while attending Spanaway Junior High and Spanaway Lake High School. She continued on to the University of Puget Sound where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Music Education and her Masters of Arts in Teaching. Valerie is starting her 16th year of teaching and is currently employed by Sumner-Bonney Lake School District in an elementary music classroom. She is happily married with two fun, beautiful and active kids, Amelia who is 11 and Brandon who is almost 4. Want to share your gift of music with her or would like to grow in music, say hi on Sunday or feel free to join choir practices on Thursday evenings at 6:30 PM or Sunday mornings at 9:30 AM. She would be delighted to have you join our pleasant choir or even share music with her!

Worship Team assists the Pastor in planning worship, both weekly and special events, and the care and seasonal decoration of the sanctuary.

Meeting: 3rd Wednesday at 5pm