The Shadow
When Bill Hartsfield steps out of the pulpit on Jan. 28, it will be the end of an era.
Preacher Bill is retiring after 33 years as pastor of Temple Baptist Church and 38 years in the ministry.
In reflecting on his ministry, Hartsfield said, “I hope that people believe that I had a purpose. Temple’s mission statement for several years has been ‘Love God, love people, make disciples.’ Not only is that the church’s mission statement, it’s mine as well. It all has to begin with God. Then everything else falls into place.”
He pondered the most rewarding and most challenging aspects of his tenure and then summarized both with the opening sentence from Charles Dickens’ novel, A Tale of Two Cities: “’It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.’ People have been the best part and the worst part,” he stated emphatically. “They surprise me with their amount of faith and then disappoint me with their lack of faith, and it’s often from the very same people. I really want to be liked. That’s my biggest downfall because I’ve discovered that you can’t please everyone.”
Hartsfield was complimentary of the “loving congregation” at Temple Baptist and the Alleghany Highlands in general. “I say the best thing about Covington is you know everyone, and the worst thing is you know everyone,” he quipped, adding that this area is where God
intended for him to stay. When he, his wife Honor, and sons Taylor and Aaron first moved here from Roanoke in February of 1991, he thought that he’d probably stay for 3-4 years and then move on. However, he discovered that the Highlands was “a good fit for a small town pastor.”
“Overall, my time in Covington has been good,” he stated. Honor began working as a teacher assistant at Callaghan Elementary when younger son Aaron started school. Both sons attended Central Elementary, Clifton Forge Middle School, and Alleghany High School. They
were active in sports in the county league and ran cross country, wrestled, and played baseball at AHS. Meanwhile, Honor had completed her Master’s degree in special education from Old Dominion University and began teaching at AHS. She retired in June 2023 after 26 years. During that time, Bill volunteered there and attended many functions and sporting events, even after his sons graduated.
During his years in Covington, he has been a familiar face to many as he serves as hospital chaplain; has been a member of several boards, including the Salvation Army, Mountain Gateway Community College, Safe Home, the Alleghany Highlands Free Clinic, and Bluefield College; previously led Bible studies at the Alleghany Regional Jail and Dolly Ann Apartments; and volunteered with Men of Mission.
He led Temple Baptist Church through several building and renovation projects, multiple summer mission trips in Virginia, and foreign mission trips to Romania and Panama. Among the challenges that ministers face today with shrinking congregations and budgets, the Covid pandemic was a tremendous obstacle. Hartfield did “parking lot preaching” on the hill at Temple for two months, and when regulations were relaxed, moved the congregation back into the sanctuary with social distancing. They resumed as many activities as possible, including singing, communion, and Sunday School after morning worship where members stayed in the same seats in the sanctuary to avoid cross-contamination.
In addition to ministerial challenges, Bill and his family have suffered tremendous personal difficulties in the past ten years. He was at a wedding rehearsal in the spring of 2018 when he became lightheaded. When it didn’t pass, Honor took him to Lewis Gale Alleghany, where a CAT scan revealed a brain irregularity that the doctor said may be cancer. He was transferred to Carilion Roanoke Memorial where a specialist again stated it was probably cancer and ordered a biopsy. The long wait for the results was relieved when the specialist called him before a Wednesday evening prayer meeting and told him that he was “one of the luckiest people he’d ever treated” as the tumor was benign. An 11-hour surgery resulted, followed by spinal fluid leaks and infection, and Hartsfield was out of the pulpit for three months; he sporadically suffered from aphasia, a speaking disability caused by brain trauma. Youth Pastor Todd Lynn filled in, and Bill soon was able to attend Sunday School and church services. He said that he didn’t worry about anything because Todd was there and capably filling in.
More bad health followed in summer of 2020 when he was doing phone ministry during COVID-19 and suddenly couldn’t speak and suffered balance issues. When the symptoms didn’t subside, he decided at 1:30 a.m. to drive himself to Carilion because Honor was away at a school-sponsored function. (He admitted that it was not a good decision and Honor was not happy with him for it.) He actually made it safely to Aaron’s house in Roanoke County, and
Aaron drove him on to Carilion. He was diagnosed with Wallenberg’s Syndrome, a stroke in the brain stem, and spent four days in the hospital, alone and unable to speak. However, he was back in the pulpit the next Sunday after being released. He said simply, “There was nobody to fill in.”
His voice was very low, and he still suffered aphasia at times, but he persevered and eventually recovered his voice. The aphasia has recently been controlled with medicine. In addition to personal health issues, his mother, Betty Jo Caliguire, suffered from dementia, and he oversaw her care while watching the strong, independent woman who had been a nurse for more than forty years slowly fade. She died in July of 2022. His sons also suffered health problems. In September of 2015, Aaron was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. After 24 chemotherapy treatments, Aaron was declared cancer-free in March, 2016. The next year, older son Taylor suffered a series of seizures in April that were caused by a massive cancerous tumor in his left frontal lobe. His wife Davina was ready to give birth to their second child.
Taylor, who lives in Naples, Florida, had surgery at the University of Miami and then took radiation and chemotherapy. He remained cancer-free for five years, but it returned in 2022. He again had surgery and is maintaining at this point. He now has four children, Reagan, Rocco, Dominic, and David. Through all of the hardships, Bill’s faith only grew much stronger. “Nothing is impossible with God,” he declared.
After all of the personal and professional triumphs and tragedies, what’s next? Bill said he plans to do supply ministry for local pastors. “I do like preaching. It’s a lot of fun,” he said, but admitted he won’t miss the meetings and administrative details of pastorship. He and Honor plan to move to Daleville to be near Aaron and his wife, Lindsay, and children Luna and Statler. Bill also plans to become a chaplain at Lewis Gale Salem.
Temple has already called a new pastor, Rev. John Ballard, and Bill has mentored John the last four months. “We’ve been to hospitals and funeral homes,” he laughed, adding that they’d officiated at weddings and done chaplain work and radio devotions. He emphasized his faith in John’s ability and that he would not be “a shadow pastor. If I’m called for marriages or funerals, I will assist John, not usurp him. I want to see him and the church do well,” concluded.
