Rev. Lois K Hedden

July 1st, Rev. Lois Hedden became the new pastor at the Mesquite United Methodist Church, in Mesquite, Nevada.  Lois has stated that she is very happy to be back in Nevada and feels very much at home in the Virgin Valley.  Having lived in Southern Nevada for 15 years, 9 as a lay person at Griffin United Methodist Church and 6 of those years serving as pastor at the Pahrump Valley United Methodist Church, she considers herself a Nevada girl.

She came most recently from Sunrise United Methodist Church in Phoenix.  Lois not only has served as pastor in 2 states, she has traveled extensively and also moved around a lot as she was growing up.  As a result, she has been in all 50 states.  As a military wife she also lived in the Philippines.

She now resides in Mesquite with her two cats:  Michelley and Poofy Kitty.  Lois has two sons, Robert of Las Vegas and Ben in the Air Force at Lakeland AFB in San Antonio, TX.  Lois also loves to brag about her new granddaughter, Lillie that she tries to see as often as possible.

“Going into the ministry was a process, rather than one step,’ she said.  Even at the age of 12, when she was confirmed, she felt she wanted to do more in the church.

She recalled, “When I graduated from high school, I felt the pull into the ministry. But I got married and had kids and back then, whoever heard of women in the ministry?”

When her son, Ben was in junior high school, Lois went off to college, obtaining an associate degree from the Community College of Southern Nevada and a bachelor’s degree from UNLV – all in two years!  She then studied at Southern Methodist University’s Perkins School of Theology in Dallas, TX. She has been ordained for 12 years but feels she has been active in the church forever.

She noted that the local church is run by the lay members. “I am here to teach, administer the sacrament and see that we follow the order of how we do things,” she said.

Lois feels that this transition from one pastor to another is an opportunity.  “It brings new challenges, new ideas and new energy,” she said.  “The Congregation and the Pastor nourish each other.”

Returning to Nevada brings Lois closer to her son Robert, his wife and her granddaughter and she hopes to be here a long time.

Lois is very proud of her son Ben who is a Senior Master Sergeant and although he is stationed in Texas hopes that one day he will live closer to her and her family.

Mesquite is a community which is made up of many snowbirds (that is people who fly away during the hot months and then return in the fall).  Rev. Hedden is looking forward to the fall and winter as these members return and the church becomes busy with its many activities and service projects. 

Rev Doctor James Lubach

Dr Lubach was born in New York City, raised in Hawthorne, NJ, graduated from Florida Southern College. He worked as an appraiser for NJ Transportation Department. Received Call to Ministry at the age of 29. He graduated Drew Theological School with the following: Master of Divinity, master of Sacred Theology and Doctor of Ministry Degrees.

During these years he became full elder in the United Methodist Church, serving as Senior Pastor in nine Churches over 28 years in New York and New Jersey. He retired from full time Ministry in 2004 after serving as Pastor for seven years in Las Vegas, NV. During these years of ministry held numerous conference leadership positions; served as associate professor in the Doctor of Ministry Program for eleven years at Drew Theological School; served various fire companies including Las Vegas as Fire Chaplain over twenty years of service; involved in numerous community areas from school board and office on the aging.

He moved to Mesquite with his wife Donna  in 2005.