Pastors of Peace

Senior Pastor Kathy Hlatshwayo

A native Northern Californian from Santa Cruz, the Reverend Kathy Hlatshwayo attended California State University, Fresno, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Physical Education and hoped to enter the field of education. With the student population on the decline and teaching positions hard to find, she began a career in the financial industry in the San Francisco Bay Area, which included being a bill collector for a collection agency. She continued in the banking industry for 17 years and retired in 1988 as Assistant Vice President and Department Manager of Wells Fargo Bank to enter Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, Ca. She graduated from PLTS in 1991 receiving the Master of Divinity Degree.

Pastor Kathy served as a chaplain intern at Walnut Creek Psychiatric Hospital and Napa State Hospital working with severely emotionally distressed and mentally ill children. She also served as chaplain at the Contra Costa County Adult Detention Facility in Martinez, Ca. She was ordained in October 1991 and relocated to Northwestern Pennsylvania to serve as pastor of two congregations located in Port Allegany and Smethport. While there she was instrumental in the formation of family centers in both communities and served on their board of Directors. Pastor Kathy was also instrumental in bringing a previously divided ministerial association together to address common community needs and issues. She also served on the board of Directors of Port Allegany Community Services and Christian Community Services in Smethport and as Chair of the Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Committee for Church in Society. In 1997 Pastor Kathy was a voting member to the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Philadelphia. After serving there for seven years Pastor Kathy accepted the call to serve Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church in Forestville as their pastor beginning in December 1998.

While serving at Bethany, Pastor Kathy was an active member of the Suitland Crime Action Team and served on the Prince George’s County Gang Task Force. She was a key leader in the formation of PRISCM (Partnership for Renewal in Southern and Central Maryland), a congregation based community-organizing project, and served as it’s President of until accepting the call to serve as Senior Pastor of Peace. She has also served as a convener of the Community Ministries of Prince Georges Forestville cluster of churches and currently serves as chair of the Metropolitan D. C. Synod of the ELCA Division for Church in Society and is a member of the Synod’s Latino Strategy committee. She has also served on the board of directors of Mar-Lu-Ridge Outdoor Ministries in Jefferson, MD.

Her husband of 38 years, Hector, a native South African, has been a juvenile probation officer, youth director, and a teacher to children and youth with severe emotional distress and mental illness and is now retired.

Assistant Pastor Nana K. Opoku

Pastor Nana K. Opoku was called to serve as Assistant Pastor Peace Lutheran Church on March 13, 2005, after completing the Theological Education for Emerging Ministries program at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, PA. He was ordained and installed into the Ministry and Word and Sacrament on May 1, 2005.

Pastor Nana was born at Kokooso and raised in Accra, Ghana. He graduated at Adisadel High School. Pastor Nana is a statistics graduate of the University of Ghana. He worked at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation for 20 years where he rose through the ranks and became the head of the Audience Research Department. During this time, Pastor Nana also studied at the Ghana Baptist Seminary. He was a Deacon and active member of Calvary Baptist Church and served at the Ghana Christian Council for many years.

Pastor Nana and his wife, Deborah, have three children, Kwandwo, Abena, and Stevenson