About

Hi! My name is Harold Vanicek. I love wondering about faith and life, and exploring with others how all thing are connected and interdependent.  I feel most in sync with God when dwelling and delighting outdoors with creation and others.  Science is my first love language of, and with, God.  I love helping nurture community where ALL are welcome, where ALL can be curious and wonder, and where ALL are affirmed as beloved and sacred. 

I grew up in the small Central Texas town of Rosebud. I received a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Master’s of Divinity from Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa. I have been a pastor in ELCA Lutheran congregations in Texas since 2009. I am currently Transition Pastor with Spirit in the Hills Lutheran Church in Spicewood, Texas, and also work with the Ark of Highland Lakes in Marble Falls to integrate ecology, land stewardship, and healing with creation in the call to Love God / Love People.

As part of my passion for creation care, I am active with Lutherans Restoring Creation, an organization that resources and inspires climate and creation care for Lutherans and people of all faiths. I am a Texas Master Naturalist, and I enjoy astrophotography, learning local bird songs, all things pollinator gardens, can spend hours on a woodworking project, and I am a local beekeeper who is always up for talking bees (honey or solitary bees)!