At Shepherd King worship is joyful and contemplative. The Lutheran liturgy guides our worship, uniting us with prayers of confession and prayers of request, with the hymns and canticles we sing, scripture readings we hear, the sermon from the pastor, the meal of Holy Communion, and a blessing to send us on our way.  Everyone participates in worship, children and adults, as we give our praise to God and receive from God the Word of hope, truth and life. We are fed by God’s promises, by Jesus’ presence in our community, and by the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Shepherd King celebrates Holy Communion every Sunday. Second Sundays of the month feature a brief hymn sing, giving members a chance to choose their favorites from the hymnal. You are invited to worship at Shepherd King where all baptized Christians are welcome at the table of the Lord.

“We are people of God: claimed, gathered, and sent.” This is Shepherd King’s mission statement.
At baptism we are claimed by God’s love and joined to the Body of Jesus Christ, the Church.  The Holy Spirit gathers us as a community of believers, bringing us together to worship, to learn, and to serve.  Then we are sent back into the world to share the good news of Jesus, in our living and our speaking, with people everywhere.

The Reverend Kristine Franke Hill, Pastor
Pastor Hill grew up in Austin, the daughter of Lutheran pastor, Merle Franke and wife, Ginna. She attended Texas Lutheran University where she majored in theology and graduated summa cum laude. She received her Masters of Divinity from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, doing her internship at Augustana Lutheran Church in Washington D.C. She was ordained at her home congregation, First English Lutheran in Austin, on July 11, 1987, by Bishop Philip Wahlberg. Prior to Shepherd King she was pastor first at Resurrection Lutheran Church and later of Grace Lutheran Church, both in Houston, Texas. While in Houston she married Donald K. Hill and the two of them moved to Hickory, North Carolina where Pastor Hill served as Associate Pastor of Mt. Zion Lutheran Church in Conover.  In 2008 she left Mt. Zion to pursue a Masters of Sacred Theology degree (STM) in Old Testament and Homiletics at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. During that time she received training as an Intentional Interim Minister and served as Interim Rector at Calvary Episcopal in Aston, Pennsylvania. Pastor Hill accepted the call to Shepherd King in June of 2009 and was installed as pastor in August, 2009.

Courtney Classen is our church secretary. She can be found in the office every Monday through Thursday from 8:30 to 4:30 and on Fridays from 8:30 to 1pm. Courtney keeps things running smoothly at Shepherd King, producing our Sunday bulletins, putting together The Staff which is our monthly newsletter, filing, keeping records, answering the phone and fielding questions of all kinds. A member of Shepherd King, Courtney is married to Curtis and they have three children, Connor, Cameron and Catie.

Kathy Gerloff serves as financial administrator. She keeps the books in order, pays the bills, and orders materials for the offices. Having worked at Shepherd King for 17 years, she is also a wellspring of information. Kathy and her husband, Melvin, are also members of the congregation. Melvin volunteers many hours at Shepherd King, keeping up with property issues and making various repairs.

Ricky Therneau is the organist and choir director at Shepherd King. She accompanies worship on Sunday morning, providing life and energy through her organ and piano music. Ricky also directs Shepherd King’s adult choir and handbell choir. In addition, she works with youth members of the congregation who play instruments, scheduling them to play for worship and offering a scholarship to those who participate. Ricky is married to Don.

Ramon Navarro is our custodian. He has been a faithful servant of Shepherd King for over 30 years. Ramon keeps our facilities clean and beautiful. One can often spot him outside sweeping up acorns underneath our huge live oak trees. Because of his diligence our buildings and grounds are always neat and welcoming.