The Rev. Elizabeth Walker is the daughter of one of the singing von Trapp children. SUZANNE CARR ROSSI/THE FREE LANCE-STAR Visit the Photo Place

Pastor uses her family ties to minister to those in need

Minister of three Northern Neck churches uses von Trapp heritage to reach those in need

Date published: 2/20/2007

By Rob Hedelt

THE VOICE of an angel bouncing off the wooden arches of a Northern Neck country church underscored the Christmas spirit of a concert in December.

From near the pulpit, Elizabeth von Trapp--she of that famous "Sound of Music" family--told stories of growing up with Maria as a grandmother.

She also sang a range of religious and holiday songs, including an a cappella "Edelweiss" that raised goose bumps.

Nearby, another Elizabeth von Trapp, a cousin who added Walker to her name by marrying, used sign language to convey everything her cousin said for the audience at Oakland Methodist, near Lottsburg.

It's a familiar spot for this plain-spoken, high energy woman raised in Rhode Island.

It should be, since the church is hers.

Oakland is one of three relatively small United Methodist churches where Walker is the pastor, spreading the good news every Sunday morning to people who remind her of the salt-of-the-earth folks she grew up around.

Walker, the daughter of Rupert, the oldest of the von Trapp singing children, has a profound hearing loss from a childhood illness. It's moved her to work with deaf ministries, and fundraisers like the concert with her cousin.

A proficient lip-reader, Walker speaks more clearly than doctors said she should be able to.

But a younger Walker never imagined herself a minister--certainly not one who would use her family name to reach hearts otherwise closed.

"It's not easy, as a young girl, to be from a family like mine," said Walker. "The second people hear the name, they want to know all about the family from the movie. You sort of disappear."

She began to get a handle on those emotions when, after earning several degrees and trying various jobs, she went to work at the von Trapp family lodge in Stowe, Vt., in the early '80s, after she'd turned 30.

"My life wasn't heading where I'd hope it would, and I really needed some direction," she said.

Working at the lodge, which the musical family built to augment and eventually replace its national singing tours, she met the man who would become her husband. Verne Walker is a farmer and dairyman whose stalwart support has made him a sort of co-pastor.

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Date published: 2/20/2007