Pastor Haco von Hacke
Knowing that one is a war time baby allows the imagination to go in many directions as one becomes an adult. Was there a weekend furlough or was my father home for the holidays?
In spite of all the options, I, Haco Wilhelm Rudolf Detlov von Hacke, was born on January 8, 1943 in Alt Wartau, Bunzlau, Silesia. My father was in the German army. The women, children and the elderly who were left at home were eventually thrown off the property. In the meantime, my father was captured by the Russians and hauled off to a prisoner of war camp. My mother, sister and I eventually made it to Wilhelmshaven. In 1947, or was it 1948, my father found us.
Having a sister in the United States made it possible for my father and our family and my father’s brother and his wife to emigrate to “the land of the free and the home of the brave”. We settled on a farm outside of Georgetown, S.C., where we truck farmed, then raised hogs and then grew tobacco. We moved to Sumter, S.C. when I started the 10th grade and my father worked as a research forester for the South Carolina Forestry Commission.
After finishing High School, I attended Spartanburg Junior College, in Spartanburg, S.C. This was followed by Lenoir Rhyne College in Hickory, N.C. and the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, S.C. During my Seminary training I participated in my Internship at Saint Mark’s Lutheran Church in Huntsville, Alabama. While there I met, and later married, Michele Beasley.
My first congregation was Emmanuel in Roanoke, Virginia. Following three and a half years in Roanoke, I was called as Pastor for Special Ministries for the Norfolk Lutheran Outreach Ministry. This two year term call was followed with a half year of service as the Interim Pastor of St. Matthias Church in Norfolk which had been one of the sponsors of the Outreach Ministry.
Working with an old established congregation, then pioneering a new style of ministry led to yet another new adventure: starting a new congregation. Even though there were already a few families gathering weekly for worship in Griffin, Georgia, it was starting from scratch. But a congregation we did organize. I arrived in Griffin in 1976. We built a building in 1980 and I left in l982.
The Lutheran Church of the Messiah, Decatur, Georgia was my headquarters for the next 27 years. During that time, our son, Eric, was born. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia and presently attends Law School.
As I had done in Roanoke, then in Norfolk, so I did in Decatur. What I did was to hold Christmas Services in German. To the best of my knowledge, Roanoke College in Salem, VA is continuing this annual event as is the Lutheran Council of Tidewater in the Norfolk, VA area. The first year (1982), attendance was less than 100. I decided we could do better, so the next year we had more publicity and ended up with an attendance of 223 (in a church that is filled with 140).
I was asked to have more frequent services but that was not possible for me. After some time Pastor Norbert Hahn became the Assistant Pastor at St. John’s, Atlanta. With the involvement of Assistant to the Bishop, Pastor Ron Warren, we organized a Steering Committee and Pastor Hahn held services on either a monthly or twice a month basis. This continued for some time but we knew it could not continue indefinitely.
Through the Southeastern Synod of the ELCA, contact was made with the EKD. The wonderful result was the arrival of Matthias Ewelt, Martin Gundermann, and Hans Jürgen Bostick in yearly succession. The arrival for a five year tenure with Jörn Foth necessitated larger work space which was not available at Messiah. Fortunately, Redeemer had some space and the German Church Atlanta actually moved to Atlanta.
The departure of Hans Juergen Hoeppke in October, 2008 and the inability of Pastor Hoppe’s arrival in early 2009 have given us the opportunity to work together.
I look forward to the challenges and the opportunity. I ask for your patience and even more, your participation. God can accomplish great things and he gives us the opportunity to share in the joy.
Blessings and Peace to you,
Pastor Haco
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Pastor Haco von Hacke can be reached at our German Church Atlanta office at 731 Peachtree St, Atlanta, Ga during normal business hours.
However if you wish to visit, please call or leave an email and make sure, he is not at another meeting.
haco@churchvergnuegen.org
(404) 817 0600
