By Frances R. Wholf
Special to The PREVIEW
The Rev. Claus RohlfsPlease join the Community United Methodist Church in welcoming our new minister, the Rev. Claus Rohlfs, to Pagosa Springs.
Rohlfs was born in Philadelphia and, at the age of 6 weeks, moved with his family to Texas. He has three siblings: a sister and two brothers. He also comes from a long line of Methodist ministers, including his father and brother.
Rohlfs was educated in Tennessee and Texas, in 1972 receiving a bachelor of science degree from George Peabody Teachers’ College, currently Vanderbilt University. He completed his master’s degree at Southern Methodist University, Perkins School of Theology in 1976.
Rohlfs has served the Methodist church in many capacities. His first job was as a youth director at First United Methodist Church in Harlingen, Texas. He served two internships for the church, spending a year in Washington, D.C., and another year in Nashville. From 1977 to 2005, he served in the Central Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church. Finally, he returned to San Antonio, in his home conference of South Texas, until he retired this past year.
Rohlfs has two adult daughters. His daughter, Erika, and her family, including Rohlfs’ great grandson, live in Arlington, Texas. His other daughter, Kristin, lives in Durango with her husband and two children. These two children, Lukas and Rebekah, are 13 and 11 years old, respectively.
In his spare time, Rohlfs is looking forward to spending time with his family, especially his grandchildren. He also indicates that he thoroughly enjoys camping, backpacking and hunting. He has made approximately 15 trips to Colorado over the past 40 years, with at least 10 of those trips being to the Pagosa Springs area. His first trip to Pagosa was in 1974. After getting settled in our community, Rohlfs wants to learn to fly fish, and he hopes to build a small residence in the area in the next couple of years.
Rohlfs says, “I am delighted that after 40 years of being in and out of Pagosa, I am now here on a full time basis.”
We as a church are certainly delighted to welcome him to our community.
