PASTOR Hwang Heo
Hello, my name is Pastor Hwang Heo, and I will be serving as the pastor for UMC of Holyoke, South
Hadley, and Granby starting in June. I am Korean, born and raised in Gangwon Province, South Korea. I
lived in Seoul for about ten years while attending university. I studied theology at Yonsei University in
Korea and pursued an M.Div at the Methodist Theological University Graduate School. In 2010, I
came to the United States to study and graduated with an M.Div from Boston University School of Theology (BUSTH).
While attending graduate school in Korea, I worked as a Pastoral Intern for about four years at Kwanmyung Church and Yesu Hyanggi Church in Seoul, teaching Sunday School and the youth group. During my time at BUSTH, I led the praise team at St. John’s KUMC in Lexington.
My family consists of myself, my wife, and our three daughters. My wife and I met at the Methodist Theological University Graduate School in Korea, got married, and came to the U.S. together. She also graduated with an M.Div from BUSTH and currently serves as the pastor of Wesley UMC in Hadley. Our three daughters were all born in the U.S. Our eldest daughter, Angela, is 11 years old, loves reading and
writing, and is learning piano and flute. She is a day-dreamer. Our second daughter, Jean, is 9 years old, loves reading, and is learning piano and violin. She is a curious and adventurous soul. Our youngest daughter, Dawn, will soon be 5 years old. She loves the color yellow and princesses. She is unpredictable.
I am grateful to God for guiding my path so far and am very happy to be here at this church. I pray that God will be with us on the journey ahead.
Minister of Music: Dr. Heather Reichgott
Heather Reichgott grew up dancing around the living room to the sounds of her mother playing Beethoven. She has been playing the piano ever since she grew tall enough to reach it. Heather began accompanying at age 10 for her fifth grade chorus, played chamber music and accompanied musical theatre and church services while in high school, and was awarded the Certificate for Excellence in Concerto Performance by Seymour Bernstein at the Seattle Young Artists Music Festival. While she was a student at Oberlin College she filled in for accompanists at local churches and began accompanying for ballet classes at Ohio Dance Theatre in order to afford to take class herself.
Today, in addition to serving as Minister of Music at the South Hadley Methodist Church, Heather is the accompanist for Da Camera Singers, teaches piano to over 30 students in a thriving private Suzuki piano studio and at Bay Path University, enjoys an active and varied career as a performer locally, playing everything from classical concerts to musical theatre, and is also a staff accompanist at Boston Ballet School.
Heather’s recordings include an album of ballet class music, A Musical Feast for Ballet Class (2011), and an album of music by contemporary composers, Preludes, Problems & Prayers (2014). All her recordings are available on cdbaby.com.
Heather has a daughter and lives in South Hadley.
Secretary: Ann Felsentreger