Staff

Pastor: Rev. Dave Schlager

Office Manager: Ms. Ruhi Nathan

Director of Christian Education: Mr. Chris McKee

Organist: Mr. Norm DeVol

Choir Director: Ms. Tonya Oravetz

Custodian: Mr. Mike Olivo

Rev. Dave Schlager, Pastor

Pastor Dave grew up in Argentina where his parents were missionaries. He went to High School in Palo Alto, College at the University of the Pacific in Stockton CA, and the University of Madrid in Spain. His Seminary work was done at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley.

Pastor Dave has served churches all over California most recently for seven years as Senior Pastor at Burlingame United Methodist Church. Other churches served include: El Sobrante UMC, First UMC Hayward, Tulare UMC, New Cuyama UMC and two Spanish speaking churches : Iglesia Emanuel in Sacramento, Iglesia Betania in Bakersfield.

Pastor Dave is married to the Rev. Jane Schlager who is serving Almaden Hills UMC in San Jose. They have two grown sons, Matt and John who live and work in Sacramento.

Dave is a passionate fan of Baseball. When the boys were young Dave coached Pony Baseball for 14 years. Today he is a passionate fan of the San Francisco Giants and attends as many games as he can.

He is a dynamic and powerful preacher and a skilled leader of Bible Studies.

He loves photography and still plays the trumpet a bit.

Ms. Ruhi Nathan, Office Manager

Born and brought up in New Delhi, India, Ruhi graduated from St. Stephen's College in Delhi, with a Masters degree in history. Having worked for a year in India, she moved to the United States in 1991 with her husband, Ronald. Sunnyvale First United Methodist Church was the first Church she attended and has continued to worship here ever since.

Finance is one area that has always interested Ruhi, so she used her time to learn about mortgage loans and financial investments. After the birth of her two children, she decided not to enter the work force but focus her energy on raising her kids. The obligations of driving her kids to school, baseball games, music lessons, swim practices, and taekwondo were demanding but rewarding. Once the kids were old enough to take care of themselves, the opportunity to work at the Church office came along in 2006 and since then the Church has become an integral part of Ruhi's life.

Ruhi and Ronald have been married for over twenty years and their two high school aged children, Nikita, 17, Tanay, 14, along with their golden retriever, Simba, are the joys of her life. Ruhi is a news junkie, likes to read, travel and collect coins.

Mr. Chris McKee, Director of Christian Education

Chris McKee is our Director of Christian Education and focuses his attention on Children, Youth and Family Ministries. Prior to joining us, Chris served at Garden Grove United Methodist Church in Southern California as their Director of Ministries. During his four years at Garden Grove he versed himself with a multitude of ministries which included Christian Education, Pastoral Care, Youth and Media. Chris earned his Master of Divinity from Claremont School of Theology and a Bachelor from California State University Long Beach. In 2008, Chris married Heather, an Educator and they both share a passion for kids with special needs.

Mr. Norm DeVol, Organist

Norman DeVol (Tamino) is both an accomplished tenor soloist and vocal instructor in the Bay Area. He received his BA in voice from San Jose State University, studying with Jeanne Garson. As a tenor soloist, Norm has performed in operas and concerts with many musical organizations throughout the greater Sacramento area, including the Auburn Symphony, Apollo Opera, Sacramento State University, Opera La Piccola Scala, and Sierra College. Norman was nominated for a Sacramento regional theater Elly Award for his 1998 performance of Rodolpho in La Boheme. His most recent performance was as Dr Caius with the Berkeley Opera.

Norm teaches privately, and was on the music faculty of Sierra College in Rocklin. He spent a year as a Full Time member of the San Francisco Opera Chorus, and continues with the chorus as an extra chorister. He also is a member of the NATS and AGMA organizations.

Norm attended the NATS conference held at San Jose State in 1997 and also has attended and chaired Master Classes for the San Joaquin Chapter of NATS.

Norm taught privately for over 35 years, 16 years in the Sacramento area, and is familiar with the local music scene. A few of his students have graduated from the music program at Sac State.

Ms. Tonya Oravetz, Choir Director

Tonya has been the choir director at FUMC since 1999. As choir director, she tries to bring a large variety of music into the church. The choir sings both traditional and contemporary anthems from spirituals to classics to praise songs. We encourage anyone who loves to sing to join us!

Mr. Mike Olivo, Custodian