SHUMC LEADERSHIP

Rev. Deborah Lerner,                           pastordeborah@shepherdofthehills.org

Senior Pastor

Rev. Deborah Lerner is a graduate of the School of Theology at Claremont.  She grew up on a ranch and in a small town in West Texas and spent her first career in the field of data processing as a Programmer /Analyst / Data Base Manager.  She is the mother of three sons, Josh, Ben (married to Jenna), and Sam, and grandmother to Sarah and Hailey. As a late comer to ministry she is grateful to have finally settled in to the vocation God created her for.  When she has time she loves to read and play the piano (not well).  Pastor Deborah has served at Paradise Valley UMC, Trinity UMC, Spirit of Hope UMC, and most recently was senior pastor at First UMC of Gilbert.  She has been at Shepherd of the Hills since July 1, 2018, and looks forward to all God has for us to do together.

 
 
Rev. Alma Aguirre-Olivares                           pastoralma@shepherdofthehills.org
Associate Pastor
 

I am serving as the Associate Pastor at Shepherd of the Hills since July 1, 2018. Before coming to Shepherd, I served as the co-pastor at Grace UMC in Mesa, AZ for two years. My roots in the Methodist Church date back to my teenage years in Northern Mexico. There, at a Methodist congregation in San Luis Rio Colorado, I received encouragement and support to develop various leadership skills. I became open to God’s purpose for my life. Accepting God’s call to ministry at 17, led me to the completion of a bachelor’s degree in theological studies at Seminario Juan Wesley in Monterrey, Mexico. At 21, and full of excitement, I served in my first pastoral appointment in Tecate, Baja California. Several years later my husband and our 3 year old daughter moved to Phoenix. My journey has been blessed with amazing opportunities for ministry such as setting up a Satellite Immigration Office at a United Methodist Congregation, being a facilitator for the Hispanic Latino National Plan of the United Methodist Church, pulpit supply, and Pentecost Journey Facilitator for churches exploring Hispanic/Latino Ministry opportunities, among other things. God has walked with me every step of the way. In 2010, I completed an MDiv from Drew University in New Jersey. Currently, I am commissioned as an elder in our annual conference.
My closest family is Javier, my husband, our two children Natalia and Esteban ,as well as my father and three siblings. Contemplating nature, walking, creating beaded jewelry, reading, painting and making other art projects (when I am not too busy with ministry!) as well as having open and honest conversations with people and God are some of the things I enjoy doing. I now look forward to fully living into God’s plan for our Church Family at Shepherd of the Hills. I know those plans include giving us a future of hope that we are already experiencing and sharing with the community around us.    

Rev. Lee Bowman Hirt                                                             lmhirtiowa@gmail.com
Part-Time Associate Pastor of Outreach
My parents, John and Helene Hirt were very insightful parents. They did not want me to be known as a World War Two “war baby” so I was born 33 days before Pearl Harbor. I was raised in Monterey Park Calif. (a Los Angeles suburb). I was active in the Methodist Church there serving as an acolyte and officer in MYF. It was while attending a Church summer camp that I accepted a call to the ministry. Post high schooling included East Los Angeles Junior College, California Western University and my seminary degree from Boston University. I began my ministry in 1965 serving in a number of Churches in southern California including: inner-city, university, suburban, beach, mountain, high and low desert. Mary and I have been married for 29 wonderful years. Together we have five children living in five different states. We have 13 grandchildren and will be great grandparents for the first time in November. Upon retirement from full time ministry in 2000 we have moved around the country for various reasons. Our favorite places of retirement were Winterset, Iowa and Sun City West/Grand Arizona. This is our second round in Arizona. In 2001-2004 we lived here and I served this congregation as Minister of Evangelism. My “extra” interests include gardening, Senior softball, stamp collecting (albums for 116 countries), reading mostly fiction and watching my favorite sports teams on television. I also volunteer at our Sun City West Library one afternoon a week. I look forward to meeting and serving you, both old friends and neighbors.
Rev. Stephanie Soon                                 pastorstephanie@shepherdofthehills.org
Assistant Minister of Care
 
Effective June 3, 2019, Rev. Stephanie Soon was appointed by Bishop Robert T. Hoshibata to serve as the Assistant Minister of Care at Shepherd of the Hills UMC.
Rev. Soon was a deacon in the Illinois Great Rivers Conference. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
VALLET-ESTHER-384
Mrs. Esther Vallet, RN                            parishnurse@shepherdofthehills.org
Parish Nurse Esther Vallet, R.N., has been the parish nurse at Shepherd of the Hills since April 1998 and since January 2009 has been employed directly by Shepherd of the Hills.  Esther earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing at Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, N.Y., and worked in public health, long-term care, and home health before coming to Shepherd of the Hills.  She and her husband have three children and two grandchildren. Our parish nurse is an integral part of the Care Ministry Program, serving the congregation as a health educator, personal health counselor, group facilitator, and health-care advocate.  Esther is a valuable source for information on congregational and community resources, and is available to offer spiritual care as a layperson.  She also coordinates the Heartsaver Program in which volunteers are trained in CPR and the use of the Automated External Defibrillator and then attend SHUMC services and functions prepared to handle the critical first moments of a medical emergency.  Esther has become a valued member of our leadership team.
Goodenberger,Ken
Mr. Ken Goodenberger                                     music@shepherdofthehills.org
Director of Music
Ken Goodenberger has been a prominent member of the music scene in greater Phoenix for more than 30 years. Ken joined the leadership team at Shepherd of the Hills on September 1, 2003. As part of his music ministry here, Ken leads the Chancel Choir, the Bell Choir, and the Band of Believers. He is active in the community as a conductor, choral clinician, voice teacher, actor and singer. 
Ken is a Distinguished Member/Friend of the Arts of the Sigma Alpha Lota International Music Fraternity.  An experienced theater-music official, he is artistic director of the West Valley Chorale and directs the Royal Renaissance Singers and OperAntics (formerly OperaTunity). The latter two groups perform as many as 100 times a year.  Ken’s operatic credits include performances as Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni; the title role in Gounod’s Faust; and as Cavaradossi in Tosca and Rodolfo in La Bohème, both by Puccini. Ken and his wife Brenda have nine children. More about the Goodenbergers can be found at www.goodenberger.com.