Navy vet finally has pastor's hands - Wayne-Wilson News Leader, Fremont, NC

9 August 2007 — St. Joseph United Methodist Church's pastor felt the call to the ministry at the age of sixteen. But Pastor Bill Creech, like many people, took a while to heed that call.

“I finished school and ran straight into the Navy,” he said. “It wasn’t until 30 years later that I answered that call. I pulled a Jonah on God, I guess you could say.”

After that thirty years of denying his vocation, Bill finally began a course of study for ordained ministry at Duke. He recently completed the five-year course after only four years, finishing up at the end of July.

While he was taking courses at Duke, Bill was also serving as the pastor of two churches in Northern Wayne County. He was the pastor for Lebanon and Yelverton United Methodtist Churches near Eureka.

“In addition to my classes, I was preaching twice every Sunday for a while,” he said.

In his previous life, Bill served in the United States Navy for eight years after he finished high school, during the era of the Vietnam War. Bill participated in two war cruises aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise. He was also involved in the evacuation of Saigon in 1975.

After Bill left the service, he began working as a plumber in the Wayne County area. He continued working as a plumber on the side as he began serving Lebanon and Yelverton as a pastor. However, he said he’s now completely out of the plumbing business – he even calls another plumber when he needs plumbing work done at his own home.

“When I started, I had a little girl come up and say ‘Pastor Bill, your hands are rough,’” he said. Bill said the first time he served communion he noticed how beat up his hands were from his plumbing work.

“It took a while for them to heal up, but I have the hands of a pastor now,” he said.

Though Bill no longer has his tools for plumbing, his garage is still full of tools for his current tinkering project – a Ford Ranger that he has completely rebuilt.

A while back, he said, he began working on the truck as a means of escape.

“It just gives me something to take my mind off of things, something to work on a little,” he said.

The truck has been completely rebuilt, inside and out. He said that he had several members of his community help him with aspects of his project, like repairing the upholstery inside the truck. “It kind of brought the community together too,” he said.

He has entered the truck in several local shows, and also drove the truck in the Eureka Christmas Parade last year.

For Bill, the truck is both a means of relaxation and a way to connect to people.

“On my days off I’ll go out for a drive and just enjoy it,” he said. “And if we can use it to help ministry in any way, that’s even better. If a young person comes up and is interested in the truck, that becomes a conversation starter.”

Bill jokes that he has his “preacher car,” which he drives on a daily basis, under the carport, but notes that his truck is the vehicle that stays in the garage.

Bill has been in Pikeville for almost a month now, and he said that he is very excited by the prospect for growth he sees in the church at St. Joseph. He says the congregation is a very loving group, with a wide spectrum of ages, which shows promise for the future of the church.

“Some of the children are just unbelievable in their faith,” he said. “Some of the things they say are just such a blessing.”

As he works with the church, Bill says he sees great potential for the church to grow and reach out into the local community. Because the church is firmly rooted in the area, having stood at the same intersection for over one hundred years, he feels that the congregation can reach out to the surrounding community.

“I’m looking forward to, through the direction of the Holy Spirit, helping the church move into the 21^st century as far as membership, through opening the doors wide to as many opportunities as possible in this area,” he said.

As far as the Pikeville community, Bill is overjoyed by what he’s seen thus far. Though Bill grew up in Goldsboro, he says the little things he’s noticed in Pikeville make the difference.

“The people here are just friendly folks,” he said. “I haven’t run into anyone without somewhat of a smile on their face.”

He looks forward to working with the church to grow internally, as well as expanding their reach further into the community surrounding them.

“I truly feel that God has sent me here to help them move further out into other areas,” he said. “My last appointment was truly picked for me by God, and God truly picked this church out for me too.”

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