Rev. Kayla Bonewell
Lead Pastor
Rev. Kayla Bonewell was born in Oklahoma City. She earned a BA in Religion from Oklahoma City University (2002), a Master of Liberal Arts from Naropa University (2004), and a Master of Divinity from Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California (2008). Ordained in the United Church of Christ (2010), Kayla has ministry experience as a hospital chaplain, campus minister, social justice activist, youth minister, associate pastor and solo pastor. Her personal mission statement is “To empower community, through experiences of the divine, to lead lives of deep meaning, while cultivating health, peace, and beauty in our world.”
Kayla was awarded “Forty under 40 in Oklahoma City Leadership” in 2016, and received an “Oklahoma Human Rights” award from Amnesty International in 2018. She is on the board for The Interfaith Alliance of Oklahoma.
Sannie Hoyt
Administrative Assistant & Bookkeeper
Sandra “Sannie” Hoyt was born and raised in Oklahoma City, and got as far as Stillwater, OK where I earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a minor in Sociology in 1988. The 1st 33 years of my working career was with my dad, in the field of Commercial Real Estate Appraisal. In addition to this, I am very proud to now be the Bookkeeper/Administrative Assistant at Church of the Open Arms. Although not literally, I wear many “hats” and enjoy making this world a better place, every chance I get. Free time is kind of illusive, but I love to spend what I do have, spoiling my dog, Vivian, and all the other animals I get to spend time with. I also have a deep passion for music, finding beauty in the ordinary, and spending time with all my loved ones.
Rev. Pam Schonauer
Associate Pastor
Pam was born and raised in Oklahoma and has been with her wife, Paula since 2003. Pam first felt the holy nudge of her call to ministry at age 15. She finally answered that call at 55 years old. She thinks of this as her 40 years in the wilderness.
Pam was trained as a facilitator of the Labyrinth in 2016, completed a 3-year Heartpaths program for spiritual direction in 2021 and graduated from Phillips Theological Seminary with a Masters in Ministry and Culture degree that same year.
She completed a year of Clinical Pastoral Education as a resident hospital chaplain in 2022 and worked as a hospice chaplain until 2026. Pam was ordained in the United Church of Christ in November of 2022.
Pam has a passion for spiritual formation and journeying with people engaging in spiritual discernment or in the midst of grief or recovering from trauma.
