Rev. Heather James, an ordained pastor in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), provides leadership and consultation for organizations and congregations in times of change.
As a pastor, she has served several congregations in the Puget Sound region. As a consultant, she has worked with churches and organizations across the globe.
Heather is deeply committed to modeling and fostering healthy leadership in the organizations she serves. A healthy and resilient leader can guide their organization embracing creativity, increasing flexibility, and moving through change with hope.
In her work in the church, Heather encourages people as they answer God’s call to worship and serve together. She is passionate in the belief that Jesus established the church for a significant purpose in the world—that the world would know the love of God through the love expressed by God’s people in worship, fellowship, service, and mission. She also believes that only God is eternal—the local church has a lifecycle that leads from birth to death, and into new possibilities, when we lean into God’s hope for the future.
Heather has served in full-time pastoral ministry for more than 25 years, and remembers God’s call to church leadership as early as her young teen years. This call took root and has grown in many different seasons of life—a music degree at Grinnell College, pastoral training from Fuller Theological Seminary (M.Div.), parish ministry, and time overseas. Heather has training and experience in children’s, youth, and adult ministries, transitional ministry, and church re-development. She completed her Clinical Pastoral Education through the chaplaincy program at Virginia Mason Hospital in Seattle, Washington. She is now pursuing a D.Min. focused on leading change in congregations and organizations.
Heather lives with her daughter in an old farm house in Tacoma, Washington. On her days off, you can find her biking, hiking, or kayaking in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. She also loves photography, good coffee shops, and is an avid reader.