Church Staff
Rev. Scott W. Smoak, Pastor
Scott is a native of Columbia, SC. He received a Master of Divinity degree in 2011 from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia. Before answering the call to ministry, Scott served 20 years in television production at WIS-TV and ETV. In 1987 he received a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism degree from the University of South Carolina. Scott enjoys the outdoors, cooking, reading, and spending time with his family: wife, Jan and daughter, Kate.
803-772-0794 | swsmoak@umcsc.org
Sarah Kate Gravely, Director of Christian Education
Sarah-Kate has lived with her spouse and two cats in Columbia for two years, but was born and raised in the mountains of Southwest Virginia. She graduated with a degree in English Literature and a minor in Religion from Emory & Henry College. She loves to read, hike, and go rock climbing. Sarah-Kate works directly with the youth of Virginia Wingard in planning and executing their events and programs. She also serves as a guide to further growth and development for the programs of the church as a whole. She welcomes a visit from anyone at any time as her door is always open.
803-772-0794 ext. 103 | sarahkate@virginiawingardumc.com
Carolyn M. Jackson, Director of Finance and Administration
Carolyn Jackson has been a full-time member of the church staff for over 30 years. She handles membership, finance and church business administration. She is also active with the local Association of Church Business Administrators and has held offices in that organization. She and her husband, Tyler, make their home in West Columbia and are members of Mt. Hebron UMC. They have two grown children and eight grandchildren.
803-772-0794 ext. 102 | carolyn@virginiawingardumc.com
Gloria A. Spires, Secretary
Gloria Spires is also the Receptionist and Publications Secretary. She publishes the newsletter, bulletins and much more. She joined the church staff in 2006. She and her husband David make their home in West Columbia where he serves as Pastor of Cayce Church of the Nazarene and Gloria serves as Director of Music. They are parents of three grown daughters and eight grandchildren.
803-772-0794 ext. 100 | gloria@virginiawingardumc.com
Greg Boatwright, Director of Music & Organist
Greg spends his time away from the church composing, performing, and musically directing shows. He also serves as Music Director for the Theatre at the Palmetto Center for the Arts. Boatwright received his DMA degree in Performance from USC. What he loves about VWMUMC is the pastor and the people’s complete willingness to be saturated with the extreme variety of music and artists that I bring to the church…the more, the better. This totally fits the philosophy of open doors, open minds, and open hearts.
803-772-0794 | greg@virginiawingardumc.com
Winifred Goodwin, Pianist
Winifred Goodwin is in demand as a chamber musician, orchestral player, and collaborative pianist. She has been the principle keyboardist with the South Carolina Philharmonic Orchestra since 1982, performing on piano, celesta, harpsichord, and synthesizer and has been a featured soloist on a number of programs, including over one hundred fifty performances of Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals. In addition to the standard repertory, she specializes in new music and has premiered many works including several by composer/husband Gordon (Dick) Goodwin. Mrs. Goodwin holds two degrees in piano performance from the University of South Carolina where she serves as staff pianist in the School of Music.