MEET THE PASTORS
WILLIAM C. HEBER
PASTOR
The Reverend William C. Heber (Bill), a native of Luckey, Ohio, and the oldest son in a family of six siblings, graduated from Eastwood High School in 1976, Adrian College in Adrian, Michigan, in 1981, where he graduated with a B.A. in Philosophy and was a 4-year letterman in baseball; and from Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio, in 1986, where he earned his Masters in Divinity degree. While at Trinity he met his wife, Rebecca.
At the end of their first year of Seminary, Bill and Rebecca married and lived for 13 months on the island of St. John in the US Virgin Islands while working as Student Ministers with A Christian Ministry in the National Parks program. Upon graduation from Seminary, Bill worked both as an Assistant to the Pastor at Ashton United Methodist Church in Olney, Maryland, and as Director of Singles Ministry at Mt. Olivet United Methodist Church in Arlington, Virginia.
Ordained to the Christian Ministry on July 21, 1991, at his home church of Zion Lutheran in Luckey, he served eight years as an Associate Pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Gaithersburg, Maryland. From June 1999-May 2010, Pastor Bill served St. John Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Winter Park, Florida, as Pastor of Youth and Young Adult Ministries.
Pastor Bill, an avid Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Tigers fan, loves skiing and enjoys outdoor activities. Over the years, he has coordinated mission trips for youth and young adults to two Indian Reservations, the inner cities of Washington D.C., Atlanta, and Richmond, Appalachia, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, St. John, USVI, Hurricane Rita Relief in Texas, and local mission outreaches to the Ronald McDonald House, Habitat for Humanity, and Hidden Treasures Farm.
Pastor Bill was among the initial group of Clergy to become credentialed in the North American Lutheran Church (NALC). September 5, 2010, was the inaugural service for OASIS Church, which he and Pastor Rebecca planted in Lake Mary, FL. As one of four NALC mission churches, OASIS joined with 17 other churches to sign the Charter forming the NALC in August 2010. Pastors Bill and Rebecca reside in Heathrow, Florida.
If you need to contact Pastor Bill, you may do so by sending a message to [email protected].
REBECCA M.M.HEBER
PASTOR
Ordained to the Christian Ministry in October 1987, Pastor Rebecca has served as a member of the Executive Council of the North American Lutheran Church, as Provisional Dean for the NALC Florida Sonshine Mission District, as a member of the Lutheran Coalition for Reform / Renewal Steering Committee, and as the Region 9 Coordinator of Lutheran CORE. She and her husband, Pastor Bill Heber, founded OASIS Church in Lake Mary, Florida, in September 2010. OASIS is the first NALC mission church in Florida and was one of 17 Charter Congregations of the North American Lutheran Church.
Following a move in 1967 from Davenport, Iowa, to Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, she later attended Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where she graduated in 1978 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology. She then moved to Washington D.C., where she worked in the Equal Rights Amendment Department of the National Office of the League of Women Voters and, later, as the Office Manager /Administrative Assistant in the State of Connecticut – Washington Office of the Governor. In 1981, she entered Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio, where she met her husband, Bill. They were married on May 23, 1982, and served one year as Student Ministers with A Christian Ministry in the National Parks on the island of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Following their internships in Michigan (Rebecca in Mt. Clemens and Bill in Roseville), Rebecca was called as Associate Pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Gaithersburg, Maryland. After serving on the ministry staff of two area Methodist churches, Bill joined the Pastoral staff at Good Shepherd in 1991. After serving Good Shepherd 12 years and 8 years respectively, Rebecca and Bill accepted Calls to St. John Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Winter Park, Florida, where she was Pastor of Discipleship Ministries from June 1999 until November 2002 and where Pastor Bill served as Pastor of Youth and Young Adult Ministries until May 2010.
Subsequent to serving St. John, Pastor Heber was Pastor of Congregational Care from March 2004 – March 2009 at Rolling Hills Community Church in Zellwood, Florida, a Reformed Church in America congregation. In addition to providing pastoral care to this largely senior adult congregation, Rebecca also coordinated and hosted local and long distance trips and fellowship outings for older adult participants.
Pastor Rebecca enjoys traveling (especially past travels to Switzerland and Germany’s Lutherland sites), visiting our National Parks, various outdoor activities, continuing education opportunities, including auditing classes at the local Reformation Bible College, and theological reading, particularly books by and about Martin Luther.
If you need to contact Pastor Rebecca, you may reach her at [email protected].