Hacker retiring at Trinity Lutheran Church in Midland

On Sunday, Trinity Lutheran Church in Midland will celebrate with JoDee Hacker not only is it her birthday, but it is also a celebration of her years with Trinity.

JoDee will retire on Sept. 30.

Fifteen years ago was a time of change in the life of Trinity Lutheran Church, 3701 Jefferson Ave. The church had just undergone a huge construction project, which added classrooms and a commercial-grade kitchen to the facilities.

While the changes were a blessing, they brought with them additional responsibilities for the churchs already busy pastors. Enter JoDee Hacker, who became the churchs parish administrator. It was a role that surprised her and one she will be retiring from at the end of this month.

There was an ad in the church bulletin and one of the pastors suggested Id be good at it, Hacker said. I didnt really know that I was qualified, but I decided to interview for the position.

Prior to being hired as the administrator, Hacker had worked in the mental health field with people with disabilities for more than 20 years. It turned out the compassion that was an important part of her job then was just as important for her work with the church.

The beauty of JoDees position is that it really evolved over the years and JoDee gracefully evolved with it, said Rev. Gerald Ferguson, the churchs senior pastor. She really put all her gifts and talents and abilities into it and it makes it hard to replace her.

Hackers role as administrator was really all encompassing- scheduling facility use, making sure everything was in working order, ensuring those using the churchs kitchen had the proper training in food safety, getting city approval for the churchs parsonages, meeting with various local groups to help meet the communitys needs and more.

It started out as taking care of things, like those using the church for weddings and such, Hacker said. So the pastors didnt have to worry about that.

While a lot of the work relied on Hacker being organized and diligent, it was her heart that was a vital part of her work and made her such an asset to the church.

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Hacker retiring at Trinity Lutheran Church in Midland