The Rev. Tim Haberkorn took a 10,000-foot leap of faith on Saturday and came down laughing.
Haberkorn, the adventurous priest at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Olpe and at St. Mary’s in Hartford, was at the Osage City Municipal Airport for a tandem jump with certified instructor Bill Hubbell of Skydive Kansas in Osage City. A few years ago, Haberkorn ran with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain.
Haberkorn said that his decision to make a jump came after months of urging from Marie Guion, a teacher at St. Joseph’s School, parishioner Violet Hoelting and Jack Hayes, who has been taking religious instruction with Haberkorn.
“I figured if he could make the leap of faith into the Catholic faith, I could make a leap out of the sky,” Haberkorn said. “So he kind of inspired me, I think.”
Besides, Haberkorn said, “I could think of no more excuses. It was time to take the plunge.”
The priest took a little band of followers along to the airport to cheer him on, he said.
With a warm sun and little breeze, the day was perfect for a maiden jump. At 10,000 feet, a man ahead of him went out the door.
“And then the next thing I knew, I was outside the door of the plane, kind of hanging there,” he said. “(Hubbell) counted to three — I didn’t know whether to hold my nose like you’re taking a plunge into the pool or whether just to let go.”
He chose the latter. The pair somersaulted twice and, with the noise of the plane and the wind passing by, Haberkorn could hear nothing. At 6,000 feet, he pulled the rip cord, felt the jerk of the parachute, and settled in for a soft ride down.
“It’s just real calm and you just feel like a little bird,” Haberkorn said. “You can talk normally; you don’t have to yell anything. It gives you a whole new perspective on the world and God’s creation. Trust me, the Lord was on my mind at that time.”
Haberkorn’s mother was having similar thoughts, with Mother’s Day and a nephew’s graduation both coming up the following day.
“She wouldn’t come out and watch,” he said. “She said, ‘I’ll pray for you.’”
Haberkorn said his next major adventure will be next summer, when he performs a wedding in Spain and makes a stopover in Bunol.
“That is wshere they have the tomatina festival. That’s where they throw tomatoes at each other,” Haberkorn said. “The whole town, and it just kind of closes down and the streets become spaghetti sauce. I already have my goggles for that.”
gvolk (anonymous) says...
Hi father Tim,
we read the news about your jump at Emporia Gazette. Ute said that it might be the next step (jump) becoming the next pope at the Vatican.
We wish you all the best.
Gebhard and family from Germany
May 29, 2007 at 6:12 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )