staff

we love Jesus. We Love Yakima. We Love To Laugh. 

Curt McFarland

Head Pastor
Curt and Kathaleen McFarland are honored to return to Yakima Grace (First Presbyterian).  Curt grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, Kathaleen lived in numerous places as the daughter of an Air Force officer before settling in Las Vegas in her middle school years (her dad’s final assignment was Nellis Air Force Base...
Meet Curt.

kara brown

Student Director
Kara joined us as our Director of Student Ministries in the Summer of 2022.  God has set a deep passion in her to connect our youth with a LIVING God!
Meet Kara.

Jazheel Garcia-Figueroa

Student Assistant
Jahzeel Garcia-Figueroa is now our Student Ministry Assistant. Jahzeel has recently heard the Lord call her in this direction for now. As she grew up in this church, she was very active in youth. She attended youth consistently from 7th -12th grade.
Meet Jahzeel.

Sarah Huck

Families & Kids
Sarah was born and raised in Yakima, Washington. She worked in pharmacy for 13 years before deciding to stay home with her growing family. She and her husband, Marcus have been married for 15 years and have four children- Wyatt, River, Silas, and Ella...
Meet Sarah.

Becca Mailand

Preschool Director
Becca is our Preschool Director at Grace of Christ. She has many years of teaching experience from Preschool to 6th grade, including several years here at Grace of Christ Preschool! Meet Becca.

jason Wickson

Traditional Worship
Jason is our Traditional Worship Director at Grace - working primarily with our Temple Choir and Jon Waite, organist, who lead our worship service at 11:00...
Meet Jason.

Nathan Gross

Contemporary Worship
Nate was born and raised in the Yakima Valley, calling Selah home for most of his life. He started writing songs at a young age, and has led worship since he was 16 years old, with Psalms 96 & 150 being instrumental Biblical passages in his development as a leader...
Meet Nate.

Amber Miller

Preschool Teacher
Amber is our Preschool Teacher at Grace of Christ. I am so excited to watch your children learn and play this year! Meet Amber.

Amiya Aparicio

Preschool Assistant
This is my first year at Grace of Christ, but I have worked with PreK to 5th grade students at Adams Elementary since 2015. I am so excited to work with your children one on one and help them grow to their full potential!
Meet Amiya.

Danete Corvo

Preschool Teacher
This is my first year teaching at Grace of Christ, but I have worked with early childhood education for many years as a teacher, a parent, and a volunteer. I love introducing children to new experiences and seeing their little faces light up! Every day is an adventure in my classroom.

Gracie Miller

Preschool Assistant
I’ve been working as a substitute teacher and volunteering in the preschool for the past several years. I’m currently in college studying to be a teacher, so there’s no better place to use my skills than here at Grace with our students.

tammy Nunley

Business Manager
Tammy has been with the church for over 25 years in the role of Business/Finance Manager. She was born and raised in Nebraska although she loves living in the Pacific Northwest...
Meet Tammy.

Ericka Clark

Pastors' Assistant
Ericka has been on staff at Grace since 2001. She spent the first 16 years in the main office and since 2019 has been the administrative assistant to the pastors...
Meet Ericka.

Deb Meyers

Technology & Worship
Debbie loves worshiping the Lord and loves technology – so she has the perfect job -using technology to bring Glory to God! She joined the staff in 1991 following a stint as the volunteer newsletter editor,..
Meet Debbie.

Aaron Brown

Security & Front Office
Aaron was born and raised in Eastern Oregon, and joined the staff in December 2022 providing security. For this Summer he is filling in as the acting Front Office Administrator.    
Meet Aaron.

Dan Barela

Custodian
Serving now as Head Custodian, Dan Barela started at Grace of Christ in 1987 - yep, that's over 35 years ago! He likes serving with the staff and all the people of our church's ministries.
Meet Dan.

John Yolo

Facilities
During John's youth in the Lower Valley during the 60's & 70's, John "attended" First Pres via KIT Radio. Then in the 80's he moved to Yakima and, on a Sunday morning invitation from a classmate, John found his in-person Church home with Grace!
Meet John.

dennis whitcher

Lay Pastor
Dennis received his Certificate in Lay Ministry from Whitworth College in 2002.  He was ordained as a Lay Pastor and commissioned to serve as the Pastor for the Tieton Presbyterian Church where he and his wife Barbara served for three years. Dennis was commissioned by our Session in January 2014, to serve as a volunteer Lay Pastor for Grace of Christ Church.

Dennis currently serves as a Deacon, conducts worship services at retirement homes, performs memorial and funeral services, serves on the Pastoral Care Team and assists during Sunday worship. He enjoys quilting with his wife Barbara, target shooting, trap shooting, and golf.