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The Rev. Elizabeth Walker is the daughter of one of the singing von Trapp children. |
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
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.
Not long after marrying, the Walkers moved to Virginia.
A few jumps later found the couple in Albemarle, where Walker met a female pastor who became her close friend and mentor as she answered the call to the ministry.
Walker attended Eastern Mennonite University. After graduating in 2000, she got an appointment in Southampton County, then was happy to be chosen for the Northern Neck churches last summer.
There, she wasted no time sharing her family heritage.
"I've made peace with it now," she said. "Whatever use God can make of it, I have to think it's a good thing."
The pastor will tell you that "The Sound of Music" had one thing about her grandparents switched.
"My father and his siblings all loved Maria, but she was really the one who was the disciplinarian, and my grandfather was the one who'd get down and play with them," she said.
She added, "I fondly remember visits to the lodge at Christmas. Maria, who would have everything looking just perfect, would have a present for everyone there, even guests she barely knew."
Walker also talks about the magic in the blending of voices in the singing family.
"There was something unique in that blend because the voices were so similar," she said. "It made that unique sound."
Also shared are celebrity moments from childhood like seeing Mary Martin play Maria on Broadway, or meeting Bob Hope and others on visits to the lodge.
Walker proudly notes that her father, a doctor, joined her grandfather in the decision to leave Austria, not wanting to comply with a Nazi request that he work
At a family meeting held to discuss leaving Austria under the guise of their next singing engagement, Walker said her grandfather provided words to live by.
"We can always replace the money and property we'll lose," he told them. "But once you sacrifice your honor, you can never get it back."
Rob Hedelt: 540/374-5415