Our Staff

Rev. Melissa Ramming - Lead Pastor

Professional HIstory:

  • Graduated Western WA Univ - BA

  •  Managed Retail Stores

  • Graduated City Univ. - Master in Public Administration

  •  Graduated Iliff School of Theology—MDiv

  •  Pastor Ocean Shores UMC (5 years)

  •  Ordained & Full Membership PNW Annual Conference

  •  Pastor Lacey: St. Andrews UMC (8 years)

  •  Pastor Puyallup: Light of the Hill UMC (7 years)

Quick Bits:

  • Pronouns:  She/Her/Hers

  • Born: Paul’s Valley, OK—I was an army brat until high school; living in Germany for a number of years as well as Washington and Colorado. Never lived in one place for more than 5 years until I went into ministry. I was baptized UM as an infant (same day as my dad was baptized) but never attended a UMC church until High School.

  • Celebrations: July 2023, I am celebrating 20 years of ministry in the PNW

  • Hobbies:  Jigsaw puzzles, reading, games (board games, cards or online), church humor books or comedians, watching the Seahawks and traveling. I’ve been blessed to travel through Europe, to Ethiopia, the Philippines and across the U.S.

You can reach Rev. Melissa at melissa@wallingfordumc.org

Justin Birchell - Music Director

Justin Birchell is a musician and arts educator with years of experience creating music in many different venues, from the operatic stage to church choirs to community theatre. Justin is currently a Doctor of Musical Arts student at the University of Washington, where he studies choral conducting. Justin's undergraduate and master's degrees are both in opera performance from UCLA's Herb Alpert School of Music. As an educator, Justin has worked with kids and adults of all ages to teach the basics of musicianship, healthy singing, and a love of the performing arts. His hometown is Anchorage, Alaska, where he was for several years the choir director at Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship and was the choir director of Anchorage Christians for Equality, a special project of Christian congregations joining together to oppose a pro-discrimination ordinance in the Anchorage assembly. Justin is an avid lover of wilderness and hiking, and looks forward to getting to know Seattle's environs more intimately! If you wish to contact Justin, his church email is justin@wallingfordumc.org. More can be found about Justin at www.justinbirchell.com.

Christopher Taylor -
Director Of Children, Youth & Community Engagement

Christopher was born and raised in an area south of St. Louis before moving from Missouri to the Tacoma area in 2021 with his husband, Shawn, and two cats, Duncan and Ella. He divides his time between work, reading, gardening, exploring Washington and eating pie! While he is still in the process of discerning his Call and what that means in the UMC, he looks forward to adding to his work in ministry, the most recent being as Children's Director of Christian Education with Bethany Presbyterian Church. Christopher has a BS in psychology from Central Methodist University and graduated in 2021 from Eden Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity.  If you wish to contact Christopher, his church email is christopher@wallingfordumc.org.

Jessica McClure - Office Manager

Hello my name is Jessica McClure and I am 39 years old. I have been born and raised in the Seattle area my entire life, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I am the proud mother of my 13-year-old daughter Jordyn. She just started her 8th-grade year at Eckstein Middle School, and she makes me more proud every day. I enjoy spending time with my family in my spare time, and scrapbooking. We also really enjoy riding our bikes around Green Lake. My home church is Philadelphia Church in Ballard WA. We have been going there for over 10 years now. I am excited to meet all of you in person soon. I hope to be here at Wallingford for a long time! God bless all of you!