Say hello to the leadership team at the St. Thomas Reformed Church.

Got questions for the lead team at STRC? Contact us by clicking here.

Rev. Nate DeWard officially steps into the role of Interim Pastor June 29th, 2025. Born in Grand Rapids, MI on July 4, 1976, Nate was raised in a Christian home. He is the middle child in a family of three boys. A graduate of Calvin University and Western Theological Seminary, Nate has been in vocational ministry since 2003. Nate is married to Rev. Andrea DeWard and they are the parents of two college-aged children, Noelle and Micah. Nate has served with Reach the Forgotten Jail Ministry (jailministry.org) for over ten years and is taking a "working sabbatical" from his role as executive director to serve STRC as a Transitional Pastor. 

email: nate@strchurch.org,

Chanelle Schaffer, our Minister of Music & Arts, has been active in music ministry since childhood. She is an honors graduate of Stanford University (B.A. in Music - Vocal Performance/Piano), and the MFA program at San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater. While at Stanford, she was the recipient of a Hewlett Foundation grant for advanced piano studies, and upon graduation, joined the staff of the music department as the principal vocal accompanist. Upon graduation from A.C.T. she joined the acting company and the conservatory faculty, teaching singing, cabaret performance, and audition prep, and also served as Resident Music Director for all Mainstage shows. She served on the Adjunct Faculty at U.C. Berkeley, and is a former faculty member of NYC's City Music School and the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA). Chanelle has performed nationally and internationally as a vocalist, pianist, and actress; theatrical credits include leading roles at A.C.T., Colorado Shakespeare Festival, San Jose Civic Light Opera, and TheatreWorks USA, and she is the recipient of a DramaLogue Award for Outstanding Achievement in Performance. Chanelle joins us from Marble Collegiate Church, one of our sister congregations in New York City. She also spent six years as the Director of Music and Worship Arts at Fort Washington Collegiate Church in New York City. She brings with her a love of warm weather, yoga, hiking and her Bichon/Maltese, Biscuit.

Email: music@stthomasreformedchurh.org

Maria V. Gomez Christian, most commonly known as Vicky, serves as our Retreat Center Coordinator. She was born and raised St. Croix to a retired minister of a Protestant Church. St. Thomas has been Vicky's home since 1996 when she married St. Thomas native Adam G. Christian. They have been blessed with two sons. Vicky holds a Bachelor’s degree in Natural Sciences from Inter American University of Puerto Rico. Vicky has worked in both the private and government sector in positions ranging from teaching to managing to writing grants. She has also worked with a successful Meeting and Incentives company specializing in large corporate groups. She is grateful and excited to continue doing God’s work.

Email: retreat@stthomasreformedchurch.org

Vicki Whitter - To avoid confusion Vicki goes by Vicki W or Vicki 2. Vicki is our Office Administrator. She is originally from Pennsylvania but traveled out west to Las Vegas for college after high school and then onto Southern California. Vicki has a BS in Elementary Physical Education from Cal State Fullerton in Fullerton CA. Vicki sailed to St Thomas from Newport Beach, CA on a 37 ft sailboat called "Illusion" in the winter of 1992. She arrived in St Thomas in April of 1995 several months before hurricane Marilyn, a Cat 5 storm, that devastated the island. Through the experience of rebuilding after a major storm, she put down roots here and has called St Thomas home for about 30 years. She married Dave Whitter in 2003, and they have two beautiful daughters, Alex and Rose. Vicki is a small business owner and has been in sales/outside sales for the past 20 years. She has also owned and managed retail stores, worked with special needs toddlers, coached elementary softball locally and taught Sunday school here at STRC . She manages our office and will likely be your first person of contact when calling or emailing.

Email: officeadmin@stthomasreformedchurch.org