January 21, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — William C. McGraw, senior pastor of Indiana's Zionsville Christian Church and 1968 graduate of DePauw University, plans to retire in June, notes a feature in the Zionsville Times Sentinel. "McGraw said that he is looking forward to spending more time with his family and giving back to the community," writes Sophie Pappas, who notes that the minister plans to give his time to organizations which aid the poor.McGraw tells the newspaper, "When my grandchild was born last July, I remember looking around and thinking, ‘Beautiful family, beautiful weather, beautiful life.’ But then I realized that there are lots of people who don’t have that." He adds, "With maybe the exception of Zionsville, there are a lot of poor people in Boone County," he said. "I need to do something to help that."
"Bill will be very hard to replace," says David Ruffer, president of the church's congregation. "He really has a presence." The article
notes that McGraw, the son of a grocer, learned at a young age that "life had another plan" for him. Besides his degree from DePauw, where he majored in economics, Bill McGraw earned an M.A, from from Butler University and a Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry from Christian Theological Seminary.
According to Dr. McGraw, "The most rewarding thing about preaching is the opportunity to be a part of people’s lives. But this is often at very difficult times, during grief and sorrow. It’s not pleasant. But it’s a relationship with people that is very deep."
Read the full story at the newspaper's website.