Staff & Leadership

Pastor Stan Shantz, Lead Pastor     sshantz@jsmchurch.org

Stan was called by the congregation to serve as Lead Pastor in August 2004.  His roots are in Canada but he spent time in Voluntary Service in Mississippi and has pastored churches in Indiana and Arizona prior to coming to James Street.  Stan appreciates the diversity within the congregation and the willingness to remain in a relationship with those who think differently.  He is very thankful to work with a great staff and many wonderful volunteers.  During his spare time he enjoys hanging out in coffee shops, watching all types of sports, reading, and hiking.

Pastor Carmen Horst Okanya, Associate Pastor    chorst@jsmchurch.org

Carmen came on board in June 2011 and currently oversees the Pastoral Care Ministries, Adult Nurture Ministry, and Children’s Nurture Ministry, as well as sharing in the preaching ministry. James Street MC is her first official pastor role. She loves almost everything she does here and loves the people! Her favorite question from people is: Can you send me suggestions of counselors so that I can take care of my mental health? Carmen is married to Dr. Nelson Okanya. Together they parent Barak and Izak. 

Alysha Argot, Minister of Youth     aargot@jsmchurch.org

Alysha is a 2020 Messiah University grad who came to JSMC for one year through the Shalom Project as an Intern in Youth Ministry. Upon completion of that year, we felt her gifts were well-suited to our ministry at JSMC and she served for another year as Interim Minister of Youth & Worship. She helped with administrative tasks during a transition of administrative leadership, and is currently continuing to work with youth. Alysha loves good stories, whether in the form of book, TV show, or conversation. She also loves to dance and is grateful to be able to share dance and movement as worship with the congregation.

Jonathan Landis, Minister of Music & Worship     jlandis@jsmchurch.org

Jonathan joined JSMC staff in August 2018 after receiving his MDiv. Now returned from his CPE residency, he will be taking on pastoral care and preaching responsibilities in addition to leading and coordinating worship services. He enjoys blending the creative and interpersonal aspects of worship services to remind us how God has lovingly formed us and is present with us always. Jonathan appreciates James Street’s openness to a wide variety of music genres, languages, and spiritual practices as well as their full inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in the life of the church. In his spare time, he enjoys finding excuses to make music, losing himself in the woods hiking and birdwatching, curling up with a book, and laughing with his family or friends over a good meal or board game.

Mary Lapp, Administrator     mlapp@jsmchurch.org

Mary joined the JSMC team in March of 2023!  She keeps the books, the calendar and watches over many little details of daily church life. She is originally from Nantucket, MA and moved to Lancaster in 2007. When Mary is not at work, she loves to cook, read, and hike with her husband Ernie.

Eloise Glick, Administrative Assistant     churchoffice@jsmchurch.org 

Eloise joined our team on a part-time basis in January of 2020. Her warm smile welcomes people who come into the office. She enjoys meeting people and has discovered many connections with people she’s known in the past or from other areas. She produces the Power Points for our worship services and makes sure communication happens between our Tech Ministry Team and all those participating in the service. 

Tim Johnsen Martin, Director of Maintenance

Tim has been the Director of Maintenance since 2018. He is responsible for all aspects of the facility, including maintenance, contracts, security, upgrades, etc. We are grateful for his desire to be proactive in caring for the building we have been blessed with.

Karen Hartz, Custodian

Karen has been the JSMC custodian since 2014. She is responsible for the weekly cleaning of our facility, as well as larger tasks such as cleaning windows, preparing classrooms at the beginning of the year, helping with fellowship hall set up, and numerous other tasks she is asked to do by office staff. We appreciate her willing spirit to jump in when needed.