{"id":1550,"date":"2014-09-24T14:50:56","date_gmt":"2014-09-24T14:50:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/?p=1550"},"modified":"2014-09-24T14:50:56","modified_gmt":"2014-09-24T14:50:56","slug":"rick-and-diana-hocker-25-year-celebration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/rick-and-diana-hocker-25-year-celebration\/","title":{"rendered":"Rick and Diana Hocker: 25 Year Celebration"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>In case, you haven&#8217;t heard me say it before, I love my church, <a href=\"www.comegetfree.org\">Freedom Fellowship<\/a>!!!\u00a0 Our pastors and leaders, Rick and Diana Hocker, are a big reason why. \u00a0They have been our Senior Pastors for TWENTY FIVE YEARS!\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I have been a member of Freedom for almost eight years, the entire time we have lived in Virginia Beach. \u00a0When we adopted our son Messay, from Ethiopia, Pastor Rick and Freedom rallied behind us and helped us raise the thousands of dollars we needed to bring him home. \u00a0When my marriage was failing, Pastor Rick and Diana were instrumental in supporting us and helping us get back on track. \u00a0When finances were tough, the amazing food pantry at Freedom allowed to know our family wouldn&#8217;t go hungry. \u00a0 My children learn about God at home, but on Sundays they also find out God isn&#8217;t BORING and they can have FUN during worship and in learning about Him. \u00a0Freedom is a big a part of our lives and school and work. \u00a0It&#8217;s home.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>We have Rick and Diana to thank for the amazing church Freedom Fellowship has become. \u00a0I could go on and on about how they have impacted our life and I know about 600 other people who could do the same. \u00a0We love our church and for the past 25 years, Rick and Diana have led us. \u00a0They have sacrificed and shared so much of themselves. \u00a0They are a wonderful example of Pastoral love and we are so blessed to have them STILL serving, sacrificing and loving us.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>I was honored and blessed to attend their 25 year Service Celebration this past weekend. \u00a0So many came out to celebrate and share. \u00a0We laughed at some of the old stories and pictures, we reminisced about the &#8220;way things used to be&#8221; and we talked about the amazing vision God has for our future. \u00a0Thank you Rick and Diana for your quarter of a century of service. \u00a0I hope to photograph the 50th anniversary as well! \u00a0 \u00a0Here are a few highlights from the evening. \u00a0If you want to see to see all the images from the night, just click on this link, \u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/devonshanorphotography.smugmug.com\/Freedom-Fellowship-1\/25-Year-Celebration\">http:\/\/devonshanorphotography.smugmug.com\/Freedom-Fellowship-1\/25-Year-Celebration<\/a>\u00a0.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_139.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1551\" alt=\"happy_139\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_139.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"366\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_139.jpg 800w, https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_139-300x137.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_140.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1552\" alt=\"happy_140\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_140.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"1070\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_140.jpg 800w, https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_140-224x300.jpg 224w, https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_140-765x1024.jpg 765w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a> <\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_141.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1553\" alt=\"happy_141\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_141.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"1070\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_141.jpg 800w, https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_141-224x300.jpg 224w, https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_141-765x1024.jpg 765w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Years ago, Pastor had a silver front tooth&#8230; Eddie and Curtis wanted to make sure we remembered that all evening! \u00a0\ud83d\ude42\u00a0<a style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\" href=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_142.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1554\" alt=\"happy_142\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_142.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"1070\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_142.jpg 800w, https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_142-224x300.jpg 224w, https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_142-765x1024.jpg 765w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>We were so blessed to have Rick&#8217;s Dad, Marvin Hocker speak and share some stories about Rick growing up! \u00a0<a style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\" href=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_143.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1555\" alt=\"happy_143\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_143.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"366\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_143.jpg 800w, https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_143-300x137.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><a style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\" href=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_144.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1556\" alt=\"happy_144\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_144.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"366\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_144.jpg 800w, https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_144-300x137.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>So many amazing speakers sharing how Rick and Diana have impacted ministries and people all over the world!\u00a0<a style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\" href=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_145.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1557\" alt=\"happy_145\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_145.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"544\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_145.jpg 800w, https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_145-300x204.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">\u00a0<\/span><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1568\" style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\" alt=\"happy_156\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_156.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"544\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_156.jpg 800w, https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_156-300x204.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><a style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\" href=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_146.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1558\" alt=\"happy_146\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_146.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"544\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_146.jpg 800w, https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_146-300x204.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_161.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1575\" alt=\"happy_161\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_161.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"544\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_161.jpg 800w, https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_161-300x204.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1561\" style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\" alt=\"happy_149\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_149.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"544\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_149.jpg 800w, https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_149-300x204.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><a style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\" href=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_152.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1564\" alt=\"happy_152\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_152.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"544\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_152.jpg 800w, https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_152-300x204.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><a style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\" href=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_153.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1565\" alt=\"happy_153\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_153.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"544\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_153.jpg 800w, https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_153-300x204.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><a style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\" href=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_154.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1566\" alt=\"happy_154\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_154.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"544\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_154.jpg 800w, https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_154-300x204.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><a style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\" href=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_155.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1567\" alt=\"happy_155\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_155.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"544\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_155.jpg 800w, https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_155-300x204.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Kids Felicia and Loren, and grandson Malachi, couldn&#8217;t be there, but they still sent their love!\u00a0<a style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\" href=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_157.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1569\" alt=\"happy_157\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_157.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"544\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_157.jpg 800w, https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_157-300x204.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><a style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\" href=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_158.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1570\" alt=\"happy_158\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_158.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"544\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_158.jpg 800w, https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_158-300x204.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><a style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\" href=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_159.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1571\" alt=\"happy_159\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_159.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"544\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_159.jpg 800w, https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_159-300x204.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1560\" style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\" alt=\"happy_148\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_148.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"1070\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_148.jpg 800w, https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_148-224x300.jpg 224w, https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_148-765x1024.jpg 765w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_147.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1559\" alt=\"happy_147\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_147.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"544\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_147.jpg 800w, https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_147-300x204.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_151.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1563\" alt=\"happy_151\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.devonshanorphotography.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_151.jpg\" width=\"800\" height=\"539\" srcset=\"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_151.jpg 800w, https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/happy_151-300x202.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In case, you haven&#8217;t heard me say it before, I love my church, Freedom Fellowship!!!\u00a0 Our pastors and leaders, Rick and Diana Hocker, are a big reason why. \u00a0They have been our Senior Pastors for TWENTY FIVE YEARS!\u00a0 I have been a member of Freedom for almost eight years, the entire time we have lived [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1550","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-personal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1550","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1550"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1550\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1579,"href":"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1550\/revisions\/1579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1550"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1550"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devonshanorphotography.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1550"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}