Rev. Dr. William J. “Bill” Netting
Pastor Emeritus
Pastor, 1963-1987
Pastor Emeritus, 2014-present
Bill was Highland’s ninth installed pastor, and served from 1963 to 1987, and in 2014, the congregation elected him Pastor Emeritus. On January 4, we will have service of recognition of his new status at Highland during our 125th Anniversary Worship, when he will also preach and concelebrate the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper.
He graduated from Denison University with a major in English and then from McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago. Ordained by Cincinnati Presbytery in 1963, his first call was to Highland Presbyterian Church. Bill remembers fondly that Highland welcomed him as a young and inexperienced pastor and that this congregation became the place where he “grew up” in ministry.
It was during Bill’s tenure that the church undertook and completed the educational wing of the church. That was during the years that many churches had burgeoning Sunday Schools. But though our numbers are not what they were in the 1960’s, we still make use of that part of the building for our active youth fellowship, “family fun nights,” and a growing nursery roll.
Beyond his ministry at Highland, Bill Netting has also served the wider church. He was Stated Clerk of the Presbytery of Baltimore from 1973 to 1991, and Stated Clerk of Donegal Presbytery from 1999 to 2014. In addition, Bill served in Donegal Presbytery as Interim Pastor at Pine Grove, Stewartstown, Central, Nottingham, West Grove, Slateville (twice), New Harmony and Penningtonville Presbyterian Churches. He earned his Doctor of Ministry Degree from McCormick in 1982, and served as the Installed Pastor at Chestnut Level Presbyterian Church from 1991 to 1999.
For relaxation, Bill hikes, enjoys mysteries, and is a student of history. His family consists of his wife, Vicki, six children and eight grandchildren.
