Pastor Walck retires after 26 years at Colfax Lutheran
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HAPPY RETIREMENT — Rev. Dr. Leslie Walck, the pastor at Colfax Lutheran, preached his last sermon on August 1 before his retirement. —photo submitted
COLFAX — After serving Colfax Lutheran for 26 years, Rev. Dr. Leslie Walck preached his last sermon on August 1.
Pastor Walck began serving at Colfax Lutheran in September of 1995 and says he clearly remembers when members of the congregation were on hand August 30 of that year to help him and his family unload everything at their new home and at the church.
After unloading, they all went downstairs to the church basement for a potluck supper — the first of what would turn out to be countless potlucks, luncheons, dinners and suppers that Pastor Walck would have with members of the congregation.
Pastor Walck preached his first sermon at Colfax Lutheran on September 10, 1995, and was installed as the pastor on October 15.
Here is an excerpt from an article published in the Colfax Messenger on October 11, 1995:
Pastor Walck was born in Papua, New Guinea, where his parents were missionaries for 26 years, from 1946 to 1972.
“I remember coconut palm trees and white sand beaches and summer all year round,” he said. “It was an idyllic setting for growing up.”
Later, he attended high school at a Lutheran boarding school in Brisbane, Australia, as well as one year of college.
Pastor Walck’s college education was completed at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, followed by two years of theological study at Oxford University, Mansfield College, Oxford, England.
Pastor Walck graduated from Luther Seminary in St. Paul in 1976 and spent the next 13 years at Lutheran parishes in western Wisconsin at Star Prairie, Prescott and Pigeon Falls.
During an internship at Tomah prior to graduation, he met his wife, Megan. A native of North Carolina, she moved with her family to Tomah in 1966, where her father was the chaplain at the VA hospital.
Pastor Walck and his family came to Colfax after six years in South Bend, Ind., where he has been pursuing a Ph.D. in New Testament at the University of Notre Dame …
“Two highlights were attending Notre Dame football games and working on the Dead Sea Scrolls, assisting top scholars in the field in bringing the scrolls to publication,” he said.
As part of the experience, Pastor Walck took a trip to Jerusalem in Israel in July of 1994 …
Out of the pulpit, Pastor Walck enjoys photography and cross-country skiing.
Mrs. Walck enjoys music and is an ardent football fan, with a special interest in the fortunes of the Green Bay Packers.
