AMY YARNALL
July 2024 marked the merging of the two United Methodist Churches on High Street. Simultaneously, the newly named Christ First UMC welcomed Reverend Amy D. Yarnall to Chestertown.
Yarnall grew up in Gaithersburg, Maryland, and then graduated from the University of Delaware with her bachelor’s degree in international relations. She earned her Master of Divinity at Wesley Seminary in Washington, DC. She is a fellow of the Lewis Fellowship for Church Leadership.
Yarnall was not raised in the church, and so she has a heart for people who do not experience church as a part of their being. She knows what it is like to seek and search for God, while being unsure of whether one believes or belongs. She believes a community of faith is a space where people can be themselves and authentic, discerning what a life of faithfulness means. The greatest commandment is to love God and love our neighbors. This means all of our neighbors, ignoring all of the ways we categorize ourselves and others.
Yarnall has served every United Methodist Church on the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal, from Delaware City to Summit to Chesapeake City. Most recently, she served in Dover, Delaware. She is excited to be transferred to Chestertown, near a body of water where she can sit and experience God in a way that only water brings. As Christ First UMC enters into this new season of ministry utilizing two large church buildings for one, thriving congregation, Yarnall looks forward to discerning together how to best use the spaces to serve the community. Christ First UMC already houses the Community Food Pantry, Samaritan Group, the Good Neighbor Fund, Chester River Chorale (in part), and serves as one of the locations for the Winter Homeless Shelter in Kent County.
Yarnall is now spearheading additional ways to increase Christian service for the United Methodist Church in the community. She is especially keen on energizing efforts to attract children and youth to Christ First UMC. Yarnall has experience with establishing contemporary worship services, leading contemplative prayer, leading mission teams, and leading ecumenical and interfaith ministry.
She has also provided leadership in establishing church based rotating homeless shelters in Chesapeake City and Dover. She has also been active in social issues, such as advocating for affordable housing, and was part of the effort to successfully secure equitable education funding. She has led community anti-racism book studies and other community initiatives. She has been serving in the Peninsula-Delaware Conference since 1997, where she is an ordained elder. Amy and her husband, Ray, have been married 29 years and are blessed to have two children enrolled at the University of Delaware.