Haga Man
There are moments in a pastor's life that are especially difficult. One such moment has arrived. Haga-Man, as we affectionately called him, has moved ahead of us to be with the Lord.
Due to a heart condition, doctors said he was not supposed to live until he was twenty-five years old. He lived to be seventy-nine. His grandson, Van Allen, died of the same heart condition at age fifteen. Haga-Man worked as a carpenter in Covenant Church all day the last day of his life. He awakened early the next morning with medical problems which led to his death.
Covenant has esteemed leaders who have earned particular distinction. Their labors have been both public and private, with their contributions helping to make the sum total of Covenant Church.
Haga-Man was the fix-it man in the Church. If it was broke, needed fixing, or a light bulb needed changing, call Haga-Man. Well, you might not need to call him --like as not, he would come by the church every morning. If there was no work to do, he would just talk.
Talk to whom? Well, whoever would listen. No need to answer--just listen. He did not mind if you signed letters, typed on the computer, took time out for a phone call, or just said: "Brother Haga, I need to ..."
He would just likely answer, "Well, I am going to do something the devil won't do. I am going to leave you." Chuckle, and out the door he would go to work, or to find someone else to talk to. How often I have seen him in Krista's office explaining to her how he fixed a car. The explanation included size of wrench and how he had reached up underneath to do the work.
Every staff member loved him. Every staff member was blessed by acts of kindness. The list of parishioners who had him work on their cars or homes is too long to list.
When he worked, he worked like a fever. Three days before he went to see his Jesus, I came upon him installing baseboard in the church offices. He was moving at twice the speed of a normal worker. "Brother Haga, please slow down. Take your time. Taking care of yourself is more important than anything else," I pleaded.
"I'm alright," he responded, and away he went.
I came to know him in 1980. Then in 1981 Laila and our family were blessed to become his pastor's family. Those were tough times for us economically. In those early days, more than one pair of shoes was bought for our children by Harold and Minnie. But it was not the shoes that so won my heart.
Haga-Man was present to help with the church. He believed in its future. He dreamed of Covenant Church one day being strong. He was one of numerous parishioners who loaned precious retirement savings to help with construction when Covenant Church was too financially weak to get a bank loan.
He and Minnie arrived in Charlottesville in 1953, only one year after the founding of Covenant. By 1954 he had become an elder in the church, joining among others, Thurman Henry, a charter member who is still present. A few years later Charlie Scott joined the elders. These three served a total of over 140 years as elders of Covenant, helping to guide the congregation from a room rented in a store to its present location and worldwide ministries. Counsel and hard work guided the church to become trans-cultural with a global mission.
Haga-Man developed a love for missions and missionaries. On a trip to Haiti to help fix a mission vehicle, something went wrong. He was seriously burned. Dr. Chuck Harris was at the accident and treated him. Before this accident, Dr. Harris had not been granted permission by Haiti to practice medicine. His treatment of Harold was stellar, impressing one of the most esteemed doctors in Haiti. This opened the door for Dr. Harris to practice medicine in Haiti. While it took years for Haga-Man to recover from the wounds and scar tissue, he would say: "I would do it again for what it meant to the Kingdom of God."
One of the extraordinary contributions of Haga-Man was his willingness to speak his opinion. When the vote was in, even if it went the other way, he would say: "OK, the decision is made. Let's get to work."
Oh, in many ways he was of the old school. He was financially conservative. His carpentry training had been to build it once and for all. A few days ago he was tearing out a wall in the old parsonage to make room for another office. "Brother Haga," I said, "Do you remember where the wall used to before we started moving it?" He just laughed and kept on working. He understood that growth requires change. He understood that change that facilitates ministry is necessary and beautiful.
Last Sunday he came to early service. Then he left and went to the nursing home to help OLD people into their wheel chairs and push them down the hall to worship. Then he came back to the church to sing in the Father's Day Men's Choir a second time. Such was Haga-Man.
I walked off the risers behind him. As we walked down the steps I put my arm around him and said, "Brother Haga, this must be deeply rewarding to you. You have lived to see fruit from your hard work. There were many days when only a few of us men were here. See what God has done!"
With emotion he responded, "Oh, you don't know how good it makes me feel!"
He knew that salvation is free. He knew that Love had lifted him. He wanted so much for "his" church to be a place where many others would join him on the journey to see His Lord.
With Thanks to God for the Haga-Man
Pastor Bare and all those whom his life touched...