2023-10-04 10:25:07
Pastor Tom Hafer at Fishers of Men Luthern Church on Pine Island. PHOTO PROVIDED
Pastor Tom Hafer, who has acted as the interim pastor at Fishers of Men Lutheran Church on Pine Island, has been asked to stay on as the permanent minister.
Hafer is not only a minister, but is also a physical therapist. He said he wasn’t certain how these two occupations were going to combine, but has found the physical and spiritual worlds come together quite nicely.
After a couple of decades as a therapist, he said he’d wanted to go back to the seminary, which he did, in Philadelphia, from 2003-2006. About a year ago, the Fishers of Men Lutheran Church was looking for fill-ins, he said, because the former minister left for the summer and the church found that it needed someone temporarily.
“I filled in a few times and got addicted to this lovely congregation –literally just got attached to these folks — there’s something different about island folks … It’s just very comfortable,” Hafer said.
He said his connection to the people of the church was immediate, although after Hurricane Ian many members were scattered. Things seem to have returned to being fairly steady a year later and he said he finds the best part of this particular job is being able to offer a voice of hope in a world that sometimes seems bleak.
“It’s refreshing to bring a message of hope that’s always been there. The sun has always been shining, we just occasionally have clouds,” Hafer said, adding that he finds real truth in the gospel.
Islanders, he said, will always display there being more hope than despair, although despair seems to get more attention. Every week he comes back to see the light come alive in others, saying they come to show and remember that life is beautiful. Having done work for national the organization Volunteers of America, Hafer said he obtained a very broad and eclectic view of people’s needs.
“Whether it was inner city, Detroit or Skid Row Los Angeles or Sioux Falls, South Dakota, or Indian Reservations. They were involved with all the places that nobody necessarily volunteers — soup kitchens, drug addiction centers. They have mostly housing for homeless veterans and affordable housing for seniors around the country — mainly big cities, inner cities, so for 12 years I got to travel and talk with each community — one more wonderful than the next,” Hafer said.
Having currently authored 11 books, he said his mission in life has been centered around faith and fitness and also teaching folks to care for themselves so they may better care for others. Using Mother Theresa as an example, he quoted her, saying “I get to work with Jesus in all His distressing disguises every day.” He said, this has drawn a word portrait of what he feels has made up his experience since he graduated Lutheran seminary in 2006.
“I kind of just follow where the Sprit leads and it’s been one wild adventure — one long strange trip, as the Grateful Dead says, but every place has something to teach and Fishers of Men is no different. It’s a beautiful place,” Hafer said.
Something Hafer wants to let islanders know is that he believes they have something to teach the country, and that they should not be silent. God wasn’t found in the storm, he said of Hurricane Ian, but in the island coming together to rebuild.
“Island, don’t be silent. Come and see. It might not be your parents church. We are not a cathedral for saints, but a family table where everyone has a seat,” Hafer said.
Fishers of Men Lutheran Church is at 10360 Stringfellow Road, St. James City. Sunday service is at 9 a.m. For more information, call 239-283-1170.
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