Folks know him as Brother Bill, and he is just fine with that.

After a lifetime of hearing people struggle with the pronunciation of his last name, Gwathney, he thought Brother Bill suited him well.

“As long as I was in high school, I never did have a teacher that was able to pronounce my name,” the Rev. William Gwathney said.

For the past 30 years, Brother Bill has been pastor of a church and 26 of those have been at Mount Vernon Baptist in Sylacauga. That run is coming to a close as Gwathney is retiring from the ministry.

It was sometimes straining but almost always rewarding.

“It’s the fulfillment of realizing that you’re helping other people would be the primary thing,” Gwathney said. “I guess you could say you feel useful. I think that’s the tragedy for a lot of people today. They don’t feel like they’re needed.”

Besides his long tenure in the ministry, he worked at Avondale Mills for 42 years before finishing his career there. Several of those years overlapped with him pastoring a church.

Gwathney said his hours were flexible at Avondale, which allowed him to fulfill his church responsibilities during the week, such as if he needed to speak at a funeral.

“Sometimes it would get pretty rough, but I made it fine,” Gwathney said. “The main thing is you’ve got to let people know what they can expect of you and what they can’t.”

His pathway to the pulpit was a gradual one. He described himself as a really active layman with the church, and it eventually got him to take over a full-time preaching position.

Now at age 85, he has decided it is time to let someone new take over the responsibilities of leading the church. He said he can remember performing funerals for 20 people over his pastorship.

“I had remarkably good health up until I was 80 years old, then I started to fall apart. Now I’m 85, so I guess it’s time,” Gwathney said. “I went to the chiropractor today. I’ve got a sciatic nerve that’s forcing me to use this walker. He told me, ‘As long as you’ve been around, you’re due for a little work.’”

He looks forward to a little rest and relaxation in his retirement. He hopes to spend more time with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. His wife, Guilda, remains skeptical about how much rest he has planned, though.

“When he retired from Avondale, he was looking forward to it, so he could rest,” Guilda Gwathney said. “He became the most miserable person you ever saw. We had to get out and find somebody who needed him to do something.”

Mt. Vernon is holding its Homecoming ceremonies Sunday, Sept. 12. The day will also be a celebration of Gwathney’s many years of service to the church.

All church members and family and friends of the Gwathneys are encouraged to attend the church services that day.

Mount Vernon Baptist Church is located on Talladega Highway in north Sylacauga.