Staff Members | Pacific Hills Lutheran Church | Rev. Dr. William G. (Bill) Moorhead | Rev. Matthew L. Schneider

The Rev. Dr. William G. (Bill) Moorhead, Senior Pastor

Pastor Moorhead has served on our pastoral staff since 1977. He is a 1973 graduate of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. Before coming to Omaha he served a parish in Kansas. He and his wife Martha, both of whom call Lawrence, Kansas, home (they are ardent Jayhawks), were married in 1969. Martha works part-time in our church office. The Moorheads have a daughter, Sarah, who is married to Jarvis Stirn. The Stirns live in Lawrence, Kansas, and have one daughter, Zoie, born in 2006.

Pastor Moorhead has been active in community and broader church affairs throughout his ministry. He served on the LCMS Blue Ribbon Task Force for Synodical Structure and Governance (2005-2009) and writes for Concordia Publishing House. He has served on the Omaha Mayor's Clergy Advisory Board since its inception in 1989, is a life-time member of Sertoma International, and is a 1990 graduate of Leadership Omaha. He has also served on the boards of the Omaha Community Partnership, Omaha Neighborhood Courage, and the Ralston (Nebraska) Community Schools Foundation. He is also a past member of the boards of Lutheran Youth Encounter and the Lutheran Youth Encounter Foundation. He is a current member of the Association of Lutheran Development Executives, the Lutheran Education Association (life-time), and the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians. He is also currently serving as Circuit Counselor for the North Omaha Circuit of the LCMS.

Pastor Moorhead enjoys reading, sports (including only mediocre success in fantasy leagues), travel, learning, music, theology, various collections (coins, stamps, autographs, and Lawrence/KU memorabilia), the Kansas Jayhawks, the St. Louis Cardinals, and family. Both Pastor and Martha are proud members of the Class of '65, Lawrence High School, Lawrence, Kansas. They both enjoy leading trips together to the Holy Land and have visited Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, and Germany more than once in recent years. "I have the best 'job' in the world," he often says. "I get to tell folks every week why they have reason for hope on a broken world. Their hope is in the Gospel of Christ which announces the forgiveness of their sins."

The Rev. Matthew L. Schneider, Associate Pastor

Pastor Schneider was born and baptized in Peoria, Illinois in 1980. He graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University in 2002 with the degree of Bachelor of Music Education, and it was at Wesleyan that he met his wife Robin as her accompanying pianist. He taught junior and senior high school choral music for one year before pursuing a Master's Degree in choral conducting at the University of California, Irvine.

In the course of working toward the Master's Degree it became clear that God had other plans in store for him, and Matt entered Concordia Seminary in St. Louis in 2005. Upon graduation, he received his first call as associate pastor to Pacific Hills Lutheran in 2009. He and Robin have quickly acclimated to Omaha, and they are expecting their first child in May!

Pastor Schneider is blessed to be a part of the Pacific Hills Lutheran Church ministry, a place where he can freely tell people about their Savior, Jesus, and a place where he gets to be a part of planting and watering the faith of all God's children, from preschoolers to confirmation junior-highers to the adults!

Barbara Fremder, Minister of Music

Some might say, "Minister of Music (sometimes 'Princess of the Pipes') can’t be a real job! What is your other job?" To which Barb only responds, "This is my real job, but I don’t consider it work because I love what I do!"

That hadn't always been the case. Barb wanted to try other careers, but the good Lord had to be very direct in order for her to pay attention. When she wanted to be a hairdresser, she became allergic to human hair; when she wanted to work in an office, she was allergic to fumes and bothered by the noise. She truly believes she is in this place because this is where the Lord put her.

Contrary to what one may think, this is not a "one-day-a-week gig." This is a daily event, planning services, practicing organ and piano, preparing music for choir, rehearsing with instrumentalists and vocalists, seeking out new music for each new season of the church year, meeting with couples planning wedding services, teaching little ones the songs and liturgies of the church, grieving with those who have lost loved ones, meeting with the Music and Worship Committee and working with the staff to carry out the mission given, most of which gets done behind the scenes.

Most importantly, the Minister of Music leads the church’s song to teach the truths of Scripture, to inspire praise and thanksgiving for all the blessings of life, to bring peace and hope during life's turmoil, to motivate action to carry out mission and outreach, and to celebrate every Sunday with saints and sinners through Word and Sacrament from 'the other pulpit' - the choir loft. Music, the universal language, is the marvelous vehicle that God has given to be used to His glory. Praise, honor and glory through songs sung since Old Testament times through the present age are due His Name!

Don Bader, Campus Ministry Coordinator

Don Bader is a commissioned and rostered DCE in the LCMS and has been working with young people in a variety of settings for the past 34 years. Before coming to campus ministry he worked as a teacher and a coach for 17 years at Boys Town. He has worked with young people in a variety of settings from local churches to jails, prisons, and treatment centers.

He is responsible for the coordination and administration of Living H2O Lutheran Campus Ministry in the metro Omaha area. This ministry covers all post-secondary institutions in Omaha and encompasses approximately 60,000 students. Campus Ministry's mission statement is: To Engage, Equip, & Encourage Students to Seek and Share Christ. It is a group that is deeply committed to being mission-minded so that the Gospel can be shared wherever student leaders find themselves from day to day.

Don received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Education from Concordia University in Seward, Nebraska, as well as a Lutheran Teacher's Diploma and a DCE Certificate. He also holds a Master's Degree in Educational Administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Joann Thompson, Secretary

Joann began working at Pacific Hills Lutheran Church as secretary on February 1, 1999. She was born in Omaha, graduated from South High School, and attended the University of Omaha for one year in the College of Business. Joann worked at Northwestern Bell Telephone Company Directory Department (now Qwest/DEX), retiring after 31 years of service. After that time, she worked part-time nine years at First Baptist Church before coming to Pacific Hills Lutheran Church. Joann's duties are to provide general office secretarial assistance to the staff and congregation.

Martha Moorhead, Assistant Secretary

Martha is married to Pastor Moorhead. They have one daughter, Sarah, who is married to Jarvis Stirn. The Moorheads have one granddaughter, Zoie. Martha is a 1969 graduate of Kansas University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Accounting. Martha has worked as assistant secretary since 1992. She enjoys working at Pacific Hills and with its members. In her spare time Martha enjoys knitting, reading, music, watching sports, traveling, entertaining, and most of all being a grandmother.

Denise Pohl, Weekend Secretary

Denise is a life-long resident of the Omaha area. She is also a life-long member of St. Gerald's Catholic Church in Ralston. She was baptized, attended elementary school, was confirmed and married at St. Gerald's. Therefore, she understands the feeling of community that a church offers.

Denise enjoys working at Pacific Hills with the members of the congregation and staff. She is proud to be associated with a church like Pacific Hills, and is grateful for the opportunity to serve and learn from all of you.

Jessica Stuttle, Sunday Child Care

Jessica has worked in childcare positions since 2000 (not including babysitting her parents' friend's children as a teenager). She has worked at  Pacific Hills Lutheran Church in the nursery since Sept 2000 as a child caregiver and nursery attendant, where she provides childcare services for members and guests who bring their children under age four into the nursery for a fun, learning environment. Not only are the kids able to play, but for some of the older children we also learn numbers, colors, dates, shapes, puzzles, practice walking (if just learning), etc. to help better prepare them for Sunday School and kindergarten. Jessica has a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice, and has CPR and first aid training. (She is currently not officially certified, but knows what to do!)

Mark Stastny, Custodian

Kay Storck, Director/Teacher, Lamb of God Preschool

Kay is the newest addition to the called staff at Pacific Hills. She is the new director and teacher for Lamb of God Preschool. She is a 1999 graduate of Concordia University in Seward, NE with a bachelor's degree in early childhood education. She and her husband Matt moved to St. Louis in 1999, where they lived for 11 years. While there Kay taught preschool, first, and second grades in Lutheran schools. She also worked for the Stephen Ministries organization for a number of years. She completed her master's degree in early childhood education by distance from Concordia University in Chicago in 2003 (only setting foot on campus to get her diploma at graduation!).

Kay grew up on a cattle ranch in the Sandhills of Nebraska, and her whole family lives in the state, so after years of being away from family, Kay and Matt decided to move "back home." For the past year she has worked with a very diverse population at the Educare School in south Omaha as a lead pre-kindergarten HeadStart teacher. Kay's true passion is Lutheran education, so she is thrilled to be back in a Lutheran school.

When she's not busy with preschool and her own schooling (she's working on a doctorate in Educational Studies at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln), Kay enjoys cooking, reading, sewing, running, playing the piano, and traveling.

"Being in a Lutheran school is the best place in the world. Every day I get to tell children about Jesus and experience His world through their eyes."