From courthouse to clergy
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PORT LAVACA - On most days, you'll find the Rev. Howard Hartzog in a T-shirt and shorts helping people.
In fact, he prefers it this way.
"A lot of people have had bad experiences with religious people," Hartzog said, citing instances in the Bible. "As a priest we help to lead people to where they can get real help."
Many times, people who need help are turned off by his clerical collar, he said.
But Hartzog is used to helping people without the the religious garb. The 64-year-old semi-retired Episcopalian priest used to serve the Calhoun County community in the role of county judge.
He recounted a time when a county resident approached the commissioners court when his wife died.
"All I own is my toolbelt, and my wife just died," the man said. "Will you please help me bury her?"
Hartzog said yes.
"That is what county government is here for," he told the man.
Compassion for people
In every job he has held, he has carried with him a basic compassion for people - whether it was as a public servant in county government, working for a state legislator or in his ministry, he said.
That compassion, he said, was passed down to him by his father, who was a state representative for Calhoun County.
Howard Hartzog Sr. served as state representative for Calhoun and Victoria in the '30s and '40s. He became Calhoun county judge in 1951.
The younger Hartzog got to where he is today through a series of opening doors.
In the early '90s, Hartzog had the opportunity to run for county judge. He used his high school nickname, Howdy, for his campaign.
"I always had an abiding thought to be county judge," Hartzog said.
He remembered his prayers at the time.
"God, if you get me county judge and county retirement, I'll do whatever you want," he said.
He eventually won the race and served two terms, from 1991 to 1999.
After his run as county judge, he attained his real estate license and worked for a Port Lavaca agency. But he felt something was missing.
A window opens
Growing up, Hartzog felt like a "second-class Christian," disaffected with the Baptist and Methodist churches from which his parents came, he said. His spiritual awakening came when he was in his 30s.
As an adult, he and his wife Frances became involved in an Episcopalian movement called Cursillo de Cristiandad, which is focused on renewing faith within the community.
Frances Hartzog, a self-proclaimed cradle Episcopalian who grew up in the church, noticed the movement elevated her husband to a new level of spirituality despite an initial unwillingness to attend.
"He was reluctant to go," Frances said. "He didn't think it was anything he would be interested in. But there was a moment where we were talking about our day, and he said, 'This is what I've been looking for.' (He gained) that knowledge that somehow or another God had finally got his attention."
When members of the church movement began looking to hire priests, Hartzog saw an opening, even then in his 50s.
"I realized that maybe there was a window for someone like me who had a passion for the ministry to become a priest," he said.
Frances said she was supportive of her husband's decision, but she knew how much it would drastically change both of their lives.
"It was sort of a growing into the notion that God's in charge of our lives and here's where he's taking us," she said.
Entering the ministry
Hartzog began studying to enter the ministry. In 2002, after years of home study, he took the canonical exams and was ordained a deacon. He became a priest a year later.
Hartzog preached in eight churches in Victoria. He served as a priest in Hebbronville for four years until returning home to Port Lavaca, where he lives in the bayside home his father built in the '30s.
Russell Cain knew him since their days at Calhoun High School. After Hartzog left county government, he worked for Cain's real estate agency for two years.
Cain said he wasn't surprised when Hartzog decided to enter the ministry.
"He and his wife always were involved in the church, and they had been studying the Bible and the Episcopal theology for several years," Cain said. "He just got a calling from God."
Cain believes Hartzog's background in politics helped him became a good priest.
"He's a wonderful minister," Cain said. "He can give a sermon. You think you're just right there in Jerusalem."
