Our Savior Evangelical Lutheran Church

Born February 7, 1955 to the late James E. Parent and Barbara (Nicastro) Parent in Detroit, Michigan, Pastor Parent was baptized in June 1956 at Messiah Lutheran Church in Detroit. He moved with his family to La Puente, California, in 1971 where he graduated high school in 1973.



He enlisted in the United States Air Force in which he served from 1973-75. In 1975 he was awarded one of four full Reserve Officer Training Corps scholarships given to active duty airmen and attended Kent State University, Kent Ohio where he graduated in 1978, a newly minted second lieutenant with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology.



After graduation and commissioning, Pastor Parent attended flight training at Mather AFB, California, receiving his wings in August 1979 and served with honor until his retirement in June 1999. During his nearly 23 year career he was assigned eight years in Europe at two bases in Germany, several stateside assignments, including one at the Pentagon, and one with the 82nd Airborne Division as a Division Air Liaison Officer and Squadron Commander, parachute jump qualified Master Parachutist in both static-line and military free fall, having a total of 140 parachute jumps. Pastor Parent also flew over 100 hours in 31 combat missions in Operation Desert Storm.



After retiring from the Air Force, Pastor Parent began his pastoral studies at Concordia Theological Seminary, graduating with a Master of Divinity degree in May 2003 and having served his vicarage at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Lockport, Illinois.



Pastor Parent’s first call was to Hope Lutheran Church, Bellaire, MI where he was ordained and installed on the Feast of Saint Peter and Saint Paul and served the people of God in that place for six years. Then he served as the pastor for Redford Evangelical Lutheran Church in Detroit, MI, before coming to Our Savior Evangelical Lutheran Church, Crestview, FL in 2020.