Ninety-eight-year-old Harry Walker’s face breaks into a smile as he starts to talk about what led him to a lifetime of service to his church: a life shaped by faith, service, and God’s steady guidance beginning long before he was old enough to understand it for himself.
“My Adventist journey began with my mother,” said Walker. Her conversion to the Seventh-day Adventist faith in the early 1930s laid the foundation for everything that followed. Because of her faithfulness, Walker grew up attending church school surrounded by prayer, Scripture, and a deep love for the church.
“I can recall being a small child standing on the bank of the waterpower works near our home in Trenton. It was spring, and the ice had recently melted. Somehow someone gave me a shove, and I went over the edge. When I hit the water, God must have been there, because instead of the current taking me out to the Delaware River, it brought me to the shore. I crawled out onto the dry land, and I said to myself, God loves me. He must want me to do something.
After graduating from the Adventist boarding school Shenandoah Valley Academy in Virginia in 1945, Walker enrolled at what is now known as Washington Adventist University, near Washington, D.C.
“I had hopes of preparing for ministry, but unfortunately, after one year, financial hardship made it impossible for me to continue. Leaving school was deeply disappointing, and I struggled with what that meant for my calling. Still, I knew God was not finished with me, and I stayed with the church.”
God strengthened Walker’s faith further during his Korean War era service in the United States Navy. Walker has many dramatic stories of how God’s clear intervention spared him from combat assignments and Sabbath observance problems.
When he returned to civilian life, what followed was a lifetime of hands-on service in his local church. Walker taught Sabbath School, assisted in worship services, and supported church activities in every way possible, including several runs as the interim pastor. Over time, he became known as someone who could be counted on, no matter the task.
“I love Sabbath School,” he explained. “In fact, I wear a button that says ‘I love Sabbath School,’ and I’ve been a Sabbath School teacher for primary, juniors, seniors, adults, whatever was needed, for years and years. I love Sabbath School!”
Walker added, “I did my best in serving the church, not just in name, but in making visits to the people who were ill, to the shut-ins. And the next thing you know, I was handling funerals and weddings and baby dedications.”
Adapting Ministry
As Walker grew older, he adapted his ministry so that he could continue to serve despite the limitations of age.
“I love baby dedications, but the trouble was, as I got older, I couldn’t hold the babies, because of arthritis and old age. I was afraid I’d drop them. So I had the parents come close to me, and then I would cradle all of them and pray that way.”
One of the most meaningful ministries began when Walker was in his 80s and was no longer able to get out in person so easily.
“I was sitting at home, and I thought, I’m going to call a couple of people and wish them a happy Sabbath. I was an older man. I had free time, and I just took advantage of it. Everybody loved it, and soon I was calling the whole membership, wishing them a happy Sabbath. It blew their mind that I would take the time to call. I’m still doing it today. There was a time I spent as much as three hours doing it. Now it’s less, but I still call.”
“It’s also a good way to encourage people to go to church. One thing that really bothers me is going to church, walking in at 9:30 a.m., and finding nobody there. The next thing you know, 10:00, there’s 50-60 people, but then by a quarter after 11:00, there could be 150. I can’t understand why people are not there, because the Sabbath does not begin at 11:00 on Sabbath morning. It begins at sundown Friday evening,” shared Walker. “Why not take advantage of all of it? So this was my drive: to get people to realize the importance of the time when the sun sets. That was the time that the Sabbath began. That was the time for us to come and be together as the family of God.”
These calls, and the relationships they helped build, are also part of Walker’s prayer ministry.
“I pray for their families and their problems. And at church, people would write their prayer requests on a slip during the church service. Afterward the pastor would come and give me that list. I would take it home, and I would pray throughout the week. In fact, in my bedroom I have a folder of all of these prayer requests for years and years of people. Every once in a while I pick them up, leaf through them, and say, ‘Lord, You took care of this. You’ve done it. You’ve done it well.’”
Through the Seasons
Through every season of his life (childhood dreams, financial struggles, military service, and decades of lay ministry), Walker has trusted God’s guidance.
“One of my greatest joys is [serving] God. For many years I was the youth director for the Trenton church. I had Friday night meetings and Sabbath vespers. There were some Friday nights we had 40-50, people, sometimes 20, sometimes 10, sometimes none, but it was all worth it. I loved being able to serve the church. Now I’m in my final years, so to speak, and I just say, ‘Lord, whatever You want me to do, I’ll do. I’ll do it.’”
Walker added, “I have only one desire, and that’s to hasten the return of God. I’m looking forward to that day when I can look up and say, ‘Lo, this is the God I was created for. This is the God I have served.’ And to think that because of His love and my love for Him, I’ll be able to spend the Sabbath with Him forever.”
Today, “Pastor Harry,” as he is known to his congregation, continues to put into practice his belief that every act of service contributes to hastening the day Jesus will return. His life stands as a powerful testimony to what God can accomplish through a willing heart and a steady, faithful ministry.
Art Brondo is media producer for Communication of the North American Division; Heidi Straw Camargo is a writer living in Berrien Springs, Michigan.
